


Of Heroes Great and Small

by a_dot_burr_ell, captainjaybird



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-19 13:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 52,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7362775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_dot_burr_ell/pseuds/a_dot_burr_ell, https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainjaybird/pseuds/captainjaybird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cat and Kara are adjusting to their new dynamic after Kara's promotion when an accident results in Cat getting psychic powers. The only mind she can't read? Supergirl's. How will this affect Cat and Kara's growing relationship?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kara Danvers  
Junior Editor

Kara looked at the nameplate on her new desk and felt a smile make its way across her face. James and Winn had gotten it for her as a gift, and from how quickly they had given it to her after she moved offices, Kara guessed they had been in on the secret. Cat had probably enlisted them to set up the office, actually. Though...Winn was almost as bad at keeping secrets as Kara was. Maybe it was just James. Still, it was such a nice present. It made Kara feel like she was someone important—as plain old Kara Danvers, anyways.

Honestly, Kara still couldn’t really believe it. She’d saved the world as Supergirl, but Cat had seen something of value in her meek alter-ego. Kara Danvers was all about blending in, not being noticed...but it felt nice when Cat did. With Cat, Kara felt _seen_ , in a way most other people couldn’t accomplish.

Alex loved her, but she still saw Kara as her naïve little sister (when really, Kara was a woman carrying the weight of a dead planet on her shoulders). She’s a surrogate daughter to J’onn, and Lucy Lane’s sunny friend. Winn and James were both blinded by the cape. But Cat...Cat’s strength was that she saw everything, and, apparently, Kara had come to her attention. Kara knew that was dangerous. Cat Grant had already figured her big secret out once before, and Kara wasn’t actually sure that her trick with J’onn had fooled her completely. Kara didn’t want to lie to Cat, and now she’d found herself straddling a line between being valued and being caught.

A knock at her door startled Kara out of her thoughts. She opened it to see James, standing casually in the hall with a stack of papers in his hand. Kara felt a surprising flash of disappointment run through her that it wasn’t Cat.

“James! What brings you here?” Kara said brightly. It really was nice to see him. She kind of missed being on an open floor plan full of people—even if a private office was better for Supergirl quick changes.

“Layouts,” James smiled back. “It’s now your job to edit them, officially.”

Kara laughed. She and James both knew that her job as Cat’s personal assistant had entailed a lot of uncredited editing. Kara had liked it, so when Cat had offered her her choice of positions, editor seemed like a natural fit.

Kara had been working as an editor for nearly six weeks now. It had been three since she’d broken things off with James. After four aborted dates where Kara needed to leave to go be super, she had gently suggested that maybe it wasn’t the time in her life to get involved, and had been relieved when James had agreed. He really was a good guy, and Kara really did like him, so standing here having shared a laugh with him, Kara felt glad they were still friends. For a relationship to work with Supergirl in the mix, Kara would need to feel things 110%, and she just wasn’t there with James. She didn’t know if she’d ever be ready to be with anyone like that, but Kara wasn’t shutting herself off to the possibility, either.

James’ eyes were still crinkled from his smile when Kara took the layouts from him.

“When do you need these back?” she asked.

“Pretty much as soon as possible,” James replied. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Kara walked back over to her desk and sat down. The layouts were for a feature on powerful women that was going to be running in the latest issue of CatCo Magazine. Hillary Clinton, Beyonce, Angela Merkel, and Miranda Priestly were featured. And then of course, Supergirl. Kara felt a little out of place in company like that.

_Cat would fit right in though_ , Kara thought. She could see why Cat wasn’t featuring herself in her own magazine: lots of people would call it raging narcissism, Kara was sure. But that didn’t change the fact that Cat deserved to be in the article.

Cat was the most amazing woman Kara knew. She was smart, determined, resourceful, and surprisingly kind once you got past the ice queen facade.

Kara smiled, remembering the first time she saw Cat with Carter. It had been about five weeks after she was first hired, when she was still terrified of Cat (now, Kara only felt moderately intimidated). Kara still wasn’t completely sure how she’d survived those first few weeks at CatCo. But everything had changed when she saw Cat with her son.

Carter wasn’t meant to be there that day. Kara should know, given how closely she managed Cat’s schedule. He wasn’t due back from visiting his father for another two days. But Cat had instructed in no uncertain terms that if Carter ever showed up, Kara should bring him straight to her, no matter what meeting she was in. So as surprised as she was, Kara had at least known what to do.

“Hey buddy,” she’d said. “I’m your mom’s new assistant, Kara. I’ll take you to her, okay?”

Carter hadn’t looked at her, but he’d nodded. Kara had thought he’d seemed down, but the boy was hard to read and Kara hadn’t been sure if she’d been projecting the disappointment she would have been felt at being ditched by her own father. Either way, Carter had followed her to Cat’s office, where Kara had cleared her throat nervously, afraid of interrupting the dressing down Chad from accounting was apparently getting.

Cat had looked up at her with fire in her eyes, but they had immediately softened as soon as she’d caught sight of Carter. Kara had nearly stepped back in shock.

“Well, Chuck,” Cat had drawled. “It seems you’ve gotten a brief reprieve. We will continue to discuss your inadequacies later.”

Chad had nearly fallen over himself exiting the office, but Cat had paid him no mind as she turned to Carter.

“Hey sweetheart. What are you doing here?” she asked gently. Carter looked up briefly.

“Dad said something for business came up. He had to take a trip.”

Cat’s lips had pursed, but her voice was still soft when she asked Carter if he wanted to do his homework in her office, which he quickly agreed to. Kara had been transfixed. She’d never seen this side of her boss before.

Cat had seemed to notice her then, and dismissed her with a sharp “I need my schedule reworked now, Kiera.” It was a snap back to normalcy, but it didn’t take away the softer side of Cat Grant that Kara had seen.

Kara shook herself out of the memory. She thought that was the day she started thinking of Cat as Cat, and not Ms. Grant. Kara had found herself distracted more and more lately by thoughts and memories of her boss, but she couldn’t figure out why. She was seeing less of her in her new position, and Kara knew she missed her. But...she was seeing less of Winn, too, and hadn’t found herself thinking of him more. It was….curious.

Kara’s phone rang with a call from the DEO, which broke her out of her contemplation. After she picked up, Alex told her that a Fort Rozz escapee was headed to National City. Banishing all thoughts of Cat, Kara cleared her head and rushed to the stairwell, already unbuttoning her shirt.

\---------------

It was getting late and Cat was the only person left at CatCo. It was Carter’s night with his father, and Cat always tended to stay late when she didn’t have her boy to come home to. Besides, Cat’s attention was firmly locked on the battle playing out on her TV, being faithfully recorded by the CatCo film crews.

The fight had been raging for quite some time, a couple hours at least. It had begun in the city, but Supergirl had flown away with the alien some time ago and Cat had assumed it was over. That assumption had held true until about ten minutes ago, when the alien had returned and pummeled Supergirl into the ground at one of National City’s most busy intersections.

Cat could guess why the alien, orange-skinned with glowing green eyes and pink energy blasts, had taken the fight back to the city. Now Supergirl’s attention was split between protecting the civilians and subduing the attacker. It was a potentially deadly combination.

Cat tamped down the worry curling in her chest for Kara—for Supergirl. Of course Cat knew it was Kara. She was Cat Grant, she didn’t get to where she was today by missing the obvious. Kara Danvers may well be the worst liar on the planet. Cat had wondered if perhaps lying wasn’t done on Krypton, or if it was just a Kara thing. Either way, her lack of ability made for bad secret identity-keeping.

Cat had suspected Supergirl was Kara from that first interview. The physical resemblance truly was astonishing. She’d even slipped and said “it’s you” in her surprise, but had quickly covered it. Cat had watched and waited until finally getting confirmation from Kara on the balcony. Yes, Cat had been thrown slightly by that trick with the double, and was still quite keen to figure _that_ one out, but after Bizarro? Anything was possible, clearly.

Besides—the girl was just so damn obvious. Disappearing “coincidentally” whenever Supergirl was out saving the day, returning smelling like smoke and ozone, unable to stop herself from questioning Cat’s coverage of the hero. Cat snorted. It was a wonder all of CatCo didn’t know.

Cat rather hoped that giving Kara a private, windowless office would help prevent that. She would hate to see harm come to her.

Cat could lie to herself and say her concern was only for the hero, but her mother has a penchant for dishonesty Cat tried not to engage in, even privately. The truth was, Cat had found herself having something of a midlife crisis. She had _feelings_ for her former assistant. It was such a cliche Cat wanted to roll her eyes at herself. She already had the red sports car to go along with it. Cat had been trying for months to push away her growing attraction; it was inappropriate and besides, there is no way Kara would ever return such an...infatuation.

On the TV, Supergirl took an especially hard hit, and Cat gasped. Such a prolonged fight had to be draining.

“Come on, Kara,” Cat murmured, now that none of her employees were around to hear her use the girl’s actual name. Cat watched with baited breath as Supergirl picked herself up and threw herself into the fight.

Supergirl looked to be trying to keep things at more of a close range to try to minimize the collateral damage from the alien’s energy blasts. Though Cat was far from an expert in combat, Supergirl’s hand to hand fighting seemed to have improved as she neatly ducked under one punch and used her leg to sweep her attacker’s feet out from under him. He went down with a bang, but shot away and hovered in the air above Supergirl almost immediately.

A considering look flashed briefly across Kara’s face. Cat wondered what she was thinking. She didn’t have to wonder long, however, as Kara dove down to the ground, punched a hole in the road, and extracted a pipe spewing water. She aimed it at the alien, and used her ice breath to freeze the water around him. It wasn’t long until the alien was frozen solid, just his head free as he yelled in an unfamiliar tongue.

Supergirl put the pipe back in the ground and welded it back together with her heat vision. Cat felt a little relieved she wouldn’t have to explain to the populace tomorrow why Supergirl had cut off the water for half of downtown. Kara looked a little sheepish looking at the hole in the road, but some things couldn’t be helped.

Soon, Supergirl was flying off with the alien fugitive in tow, and Cat let out a relieved breath and turned off the TV. Once again, the day was saved. Cat wondered if she’d ever get used to it, knowing that the girl fighting was one she cared for. It made an already difficult job harder. Cat’s control was absolute, and she was sure none of her employees could detect an unusual amount of tension from her while Supergirl was off being heroic, but still. The fact that she couldn’t fall back on a veneer of apathy regarding Kara annoyed (and concerned) Cat.

Cat shook her head. It was past time for her to go home. She packed up her things and entered her private elevator. As the floors clicked down, Cat took a moment to center herself and shake off her work persona. Even alone in the CatCo building, she was still Cat Grant, the Queen of All Media. At home, for Carter (even when he wasn’t there), she tried to be just Cat.

Her car and driver were waiting in the underground garage. Cat preferred to exit that way and avoid any paparazzi. Cat accepted that she was a public figure, but that didn’t mean she had to make it easy for them.

As she walked back to her car Cat realized that something felt...off. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and that journalistic instinct that had gotten her so far was blaring alarm sirens in her head. Cat picked up her pace and risked a glance behind her. There was no one there. When her head snapped back around, Cat realized: this man was not her driver. She had no idea who the hell he was.

Cat stopped, reaching for the pepper spray in her purse.

“Who—” she began, but the man was already moving towards her. He was big, burly, and faster than his size would suggest. Cat had barely gotten her hand into her purse when he was right there, in front of her.

“Dr. Mortis wants to see you,” he said. His hand, holding a rag soaked in chloroform, came up to Cat’s mouth and then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fic for the Supergirl fandom, co-written by the wonderful Elena6375. We're alternating chapters and the first was mine after I won rock/paper/scissors :)
> 
> \--captainjaybird
> 
> Playing rock/paper/scissors over messenger was much harder than anticipated, and so I will be following captainjaybird's chapters as we move this new story forward. Let us know what you think :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter by elena6375

“Kara, would you please hold still?” Alex huffed, leveling an antiseptic wipe at her.

“I told you I was fine, Alex,” Kara said, pulling lightly out of her sister’s grasp. She was back at the DEO having finally dropped off the unconscious tamaranean into an empty holding cell. “Those energy blasts were powerful but they didn’t even break the skin.” Kara grimaced. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t say the same for the street.”

Alex sighed and tossed the swab down, removing her plastic gloves. “That’s what the city’s general fund is for.”

Kara shrugged, her cape shifting with the movement. “I suppose.”

Kara’s phone began to vibrate and the bluetooth she wore in her ear beeped. Kara looked curiously over to her sister and frowned. Alex was in the same room as her and, from Kara’s vantage point in Alex’s lab, she could see Lucy and J’onn bent over a console in the command center. The late hour ruled out a friendly call from either James or Winn which meant that whoever was calling her was looking for Kara Danvers, and that it was possibly an emergency.

Kara touched a finger to the bluetooth. “Hello?” she asked, keeping her voice light.

“Uh, Kara?” a small voice replied. Kara recognized the voice almost instantly, and was confused as to why Carter Grant would be calling her at 11:24 p.m. There wasn’t much background noise, but there was a note of urgency in Carter’s voice that set Kara immediately on edge.

“Carter? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry to call like this. But I still have your number in my phone from when you were mom’s assistant; you know, for emergencies—”

“Carter, it’s fine. You can call me whenever,” Kara said. “But, uh...Is there an emergency?

“I don’t know,” Carter replied. “My dad says no but... Mom usually calls to tell me goodnight and she hasn’t been answering her cell, or the house phone or her office phone!” He paused. “Anyways, I don’t have the new assistant’s number yet because mom said that she wanted to wait until they lasted at least a month and I just thought maybe you could call the driving company and make sure she got home alright. Please?”

“Yeah, of course. Let me go check for that and I’ll call you back. Or have her call you.”

Carter released a deep breath. “Thanks, Kara.”

“I’ll be in touch soon, buddy.” Carter thanked her again and hung up, letting the line go dead in her ear. Kara turned to where Alex was watching her curiously.

“Everything alright?” Alex asked, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know,” Kara answered honestly. “Cat hasn’t checked in with Carter tonight and he’s panicking a little. Let me try her cell.” Kara grabbed her phone and scrolled through her contact list until she found Cat’s name. There were several rings before it went to voicemail.

“Maybe her phone is just dead.” Alex suggested, seeing the look on Kara’s face.

That had never happened in all the years Kara had known Cat but it was still a possibility.

“Maybe… Just let me try the office.” It rang several times and went to voicemail. “And her house.” Voicemail. Kara bit her lip, trying to banish the small kernel of fear that was growing in her stomach. “I’m going to do a flyby of the penthouse and the office. If she’s at either one, I’ll just pop by and tell her that Carter called me.” Kara put her phone away.

Alex nodded. “Okay, call me when you get home?”

“I will,” Kara promised, turning to the door. “Love you!”

“Love you, too,” Alex murmured.

Kara rushed out of the DEO, not bothering with any other goodbyes. She was in the sky at once, speeding towards National City in record time, running over Cat’s usual schedule in her mind. On nights where Carter was with his father, Cat usually stayed late at the office, a habit of hers that allowed her to leave at a reasonable hour the rest of the time.

Cat’s penthouse was closest to the DEO so Kara stopped there first, landing carefully on the balcony outside of the master bedroom. The first thing Kara noticed was that the apartment was dark, her supersenses only picking up sounds from the surrounding apartments. A quick look with her x-ray vision confirmed it—Cat’s apartment was empty. Taking back off from the balcony, Kara headed for the heart of the city where CatCo’s building stood out among the skyline.

Kara’s hope that this search would end when she landed on her second balcony for the night faded when she saw that even the lights in Cat’s office were out. Kara rushed to the glass door and opened it wide, grateful that Cat didn’t feel the need to lock up a door that was inaccessible to anyone without the power of flight. She crossed to Cat’s desk, placing a hand on top of the closed laptop, checking the device for the warmth that signalled recent use, and finding it cold.

“Dammit, Cat,” Kara whispered. “Where are you?” She left the office through the glass door, walking out into the bullpen, retracing the steps Cat would have taken as she left.

Kara had no qualms taking Cat’s private elevator down to the parking garage, knowing full well that, if she was caught, it would be the cape that would spare her. The elevator was maddeningly slow, with only the decreasing numbers on the LED panel to indicate the floor she was on. Finally, the metal box stopped at the lowest level of CatCo, the doors opening in front of Kara and letting her out.

The garage was quiet, the usual sounds of the carpool silenced in the after hours. Kara’s footsteps echoed eerily as she walked further into the structure, eyes scanning for any minute detail. Kara knew that Cat would have her driver pull in as close to the elevator as possible to avoid photographers, a well-known quirk of hers. Something on the floor beside one of CatCo’s many news’ crew vans caught her eye and Kara made a beeline for the behind the white van.

“Oh no,” Kara said, her stomach sinking.

Lying sideways on the ground, its contents spilling out into the concrete, was a familiar looking Birkin bag (Kara remembered vividly the day Cat had entered the office and instructed the bullpen that no one was to touch her custom bag lest they planned to repay her double the amount of their salaries). Bending down, Kara spotted Cat’s cell phone laying a few feet from the bag, the screen cracked. Carefully pressing the home button, the device lit up, showing Kara seven missed calls—five from Carter, one from herself, and one from her ex—along with several unanswered texts.

Just then, the phone in Kara’s hand started to ring again and a picture of baby Carter playing in the sand smiled up at her. Swallowing thickly, Kara slid the lock screen to answer and held the device up to her ear.

“Carter,” Kara started, afraid he would jump in, expecting his mother.

“Kara!” he exclaimed. Kara could hear relief coloring his voice. “You have mom’s phone? Is she with you? Can I talk to her?”

Kara drew in a steadying breath. She wouldn't have wanted to tell Carter anything without having some shred of hope to offer him but it was too late to do anything about that at this point.

“Carter,” she began, licking her lips. “I have something to tell you.”

“You're scaring me,” Carter said.

Kara’s eyes squeezed shut against his admission. “I know and I'm sorry.”

“Just tell me,” he begged.

“I checked your house and the office but she wasn't there.” Kara took out her phone and typed out a quick text to Alex, briefing her on the situation. Alex responded almost instantly, telling Kara that she’d alert the police and come join her in the guise of an FBI agent shortly. “Also, I found your mom’s phone and purse in the parking garage.”

“She's missing,” Carter surmised.

“Looks that way,” Kara said, mentally making a list in her head of anyone that might have a grudge against Cat.

Carter was silent for a moment and Kara thought she heard the telltale sounds of crying, her heart breaking at the revelation. “Supergirl,” Carter mumbled after a while.

“What?” Kara asked, straightening. She wondered if she’d heard him correctly.

“Supergirl!” Carter repeated, his voice raising several decibel levels. “Supergirl could find my mom! Kara, please!”

Kara knew that Carter didn’t know that he was asking her, specifically, but she couldn’t help wanting to reassure him. “Don’t worry, Carter. Supergirl will find your mom. I promise.”

* * *

Cat held her eyes closed against the throbbing in her temples, a low moan passing unbidden through her lips. She seemed to be zip-tied to a metal folding chair, her ankles zip-tied the to the legs of the chair. The restraints limited her movement but weren’t painful, and Cat pulled at her wrists, trying to measure how much give she had in the ties.

“Ah, so I see you're finally waking up.” Cat froze, not expecting to have company. A low chuckle reached her ears. “I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

Cat willed her eyes open, flinching against the harsh light that flooded the room. The world spun a bit but Cat used the time to take in her surroundings. She was in a rundown room with wall to wall shelving, various glasses, beakers, and solvents sitting upon the shelves. Cat saw broken machines, desks, and extra chairs stacked in one corner of the room; it was a neglected supply closet of some sort. But where? A school, a company laboratory, a hospital?

Focusing further, Cat spied the man who was speaking. He was leaning against the door, dressed in a suit that seemed to be wearing him rather than the other way around, the fraying on the lapels telling Cat that obviously this man had seen better days. For all this, he seemed rather serene, smiling gently at her with his pinched face, his balding head slick with perspiration.

“I don't suppose you have any water,” Cat croaked, determined not to let this creep know that she was rattled.

“I suppose you may be experiencing a bit of dry mouth,” he said, pressing on the bridge of the clunky glasses he was wearing. “Chloroform will do that to you.”

“You know, you could have just requested a meeting if you wanted to see me so badly,” Cat quipped, leaning back in the chair and sliding down a bit. “What am I expected to call you?”

“My name is Rigoro Mortis, Ms. Grant,” he said, giving her a little bow.

“Seriously?” Cat laughed.

A muscle in his cheek twitched. “I did not bring you here to chat.” He smiled sweetly. Cat wanted to punch him.

“Then why did you bring me here? It couldn’t be for these stellar accommodations,” Cat scoffed. She pulled again at the plastic around her wrists.

“After all this time, you are still Supergirl’s closest associate.” He mopped sloppily at his brow with a handkerchief. “My benefactor is eager to meet her. We have _plans_.” He sounded downright giddy as he said this. “At any rate, get comfortable, Ms. Grant. I estimate that no one will miss you until morning so we have a few hours before anyone begins looking for you. Have a good night.” Her captor disappeared out of the room.

Cat closed her eyes, the situation making sense to her now. This crazy asshole, and whoever was bankrolling him, wanted to lure Supergirl in by using her as bait. And she hadn’t particularly liked how excited he’d been when he mentioned the plans he had for Supergirl.

“Screw this,” Cat whispered. She carefully twisted her wrists, trying to turn the zip ties until the little plastic joint was positioned against the metal rod of the chair on both sides. With the little bit of dexterity she had, Cat fed the ties into the joint until it was snug against her skin. “Okay, here we go,” Cat told herself, not looking forward to the pain she was about to experience.

Cat pulled as hard as she could, trying to break free of her restraints. She tried to contain a gasp, the plastic tie was cutting into her skin now, her eyes filled with tears. _Just a little more_ , she told herself, feeling the tears spill over.

She heard the snap of plastic before she felt it, her arms shooting outwards as the plastic gave way. She cried out a bit as the blood rushed to the freed area, pulling her arms back and cradling her wrists to her chest. She was bleeding a bit, nothing she couldn’t manage, and Cat took a second to compose herself before turning her attention to the legs of the chair.

Whoever had tied her up was an imbecile. They’d properly tied her wrists but neglected to take into account that, once her hands were free, she would be able to stand and shimmy the chair out of the ties without needing to break anything else.

“There,” Cat murmured as she freed herself completely. “That’s better.” She stretched, shaking out her stiff limbs and rolling her neck. Cat smoothed down her skirt. “Now, I just need to get out of here.”

The door was locked, as she’d expected, but a quick search of the room yielded a screwdriver. She crouched down next to the door, taking care to be as silent as possible as she unscrewed the handle.

“Idiots,” Cat scoffed, standing and pulling the door open.

Cat stuck her head out of the supply room, looking both ways but not finding any obvious exit. Scowling when she realized she’d have to pick a direction at random, Cat started down the hall to the right. She’d only made it a few steps when she was forced to pause, fearing that the clicking of her heels might draw attention. Slipping off her shoes, Cat held her heels in one hand while holding the screwdriver in front of her in case she needed a weapon.

Sneaking down the hall was slow going when you didn’t know where you were needed to go. The corridors were empty, only half lit, and Cat couldn’t seem to calm the frantic beating of her heart, a fact that didn’t seem to be helped when she turned the corner and nearly walked into the path of some goon.

Scrambling back to the previous corridor, Cat pressed herself up against the wall and prayed that she hadn’t been spotted. The man passed her quickly, his attention on a phone in his hand. Cat let out a soft breath of relief, keeping quiet as the man knocked frantically on a door a ways down the hall.

“Doctor!” The man called. His voice was familiar; this man was probably the one that jumped her in the parking garage. “Doctor!”

The door swung open to reveal Rigoro, a set of goggles over his glasses. “What is it?” he asked, lifting the extra eyewear.

“It’s the boss, Dr. Mortis. She wants an update.” He held his hand out with the device.

“Alright, give me the phone.” Dr. Mortis took the phone and the other man scurried down the hall. “Hello?” There was a pause as he waited for whoever was on the other line. “Yes, ma’am. Everything is going according to schedule. The device is prepped and ready for use.” Mortis mopped at his forehead with a handkerchief again, looking back at the door he’d just come out of.

Cat didn’t like the sound of that. She wondered what ‘device’ could be housed in that room. A weapon of some sort; something strong enough to hurt Supergirl. Cat itched to go and check it out.

“Yes,” he continued, answering some question. “We have her and it should still be hours before we have to worry—” He broke off. “What? Already?” He hissed.

Cat figured they were talking about her and smirked. Obviously, the doctor’s estimation that no one would miss her for hours was incorrect. It sounded like someone had already started a search.

“We’ll have to move up the timetable. I need to go make sure everything else is ready for your arrival.” He huffed as he hung up the phone, running after his previous associate and leaving the room he’d been in unattended.

The logical thing would have been to go in the opposite direction, away from the madmen who had kidnapped her and try to exit the building. Except that, if there was a device in that unattended room that could hurt Supergirl—hurt Kara—Cat felt compelled to go in there and try and stop it, somehow.

Darting to the room, Cat slipped inside and closed the door behind her. Three fourths of the room was taken up by a massive machine that was humming loudly, a swiveling dish mounted on the top of it sparking menacingly. Cat approached slowly, dropping her heels to the floor and taking in the many levers and buttons beside the digital control panel.

The screen responded to her touch but after scrolling through several commands and readings, Cat couldn’t figure out what the device did. It seemed too cumbersome to be a weapon, but Cat supposed that Dr. Mortis could have planned to drag her in here to lure Supergirl in close.

“So I see you’ve discovered my ultimate creation.”

Cat whirled around, the noise from the machine having made her miss the doctor’s entrance. He was standing near the door, a handgun clasped in his right hand. Swallowing, Cat backed up. “What does it do?” she asked, her voice sounding far more confident than she was feeling.

Rigoro laughed.“My dear, I’m the one with a weapon. I don't think I’ll be answering any questions.” He brandished the gun at her. “Now, step away from there.”

Cat’s hand tightened around the screwdriver in her grasp. “Why? Afraid I might touch something?” She put her free hand on one of the levers. “What does this do?”

Rigoro’s eyes widened. “Don’t touch that!” he said without thinking. “It took me a week to stabilize the power source, if you pull that—”

“Whoops,” Cat said mockingly, throwing the lever. The machine groaned and shuddered.

“No!” Rigoro surged forward, shoving Cat out of the way. “No, no, no, no, no!”

Cat stumbled but didn’t hit the ground, falling back against a table. Rigoro had his back turned to her, urgently trying to restore the machine, the gun lying at his feet. Seizing her chance, Cat ran at him, jabbing the screwdriver into his shoulder.

Rigoro howled in pain, trying to throw Cat off of him and only serving to drive the screwdriver in farther when he slammed them against the machine. Cat finally let go, grabbing the gun that lay forgotten as Rigoro struggled to pull the tool from his shoulder and failed.

“You—” he gasped, whirling towards Cat, his face twisted in pain.

Cat didn’t wait for him to finish, pulling the hammer back and aiming the gun at him. “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Now, tell me how to shut this thing down.” She jerked her head towards the machine.

“You can’t,” he said, his eyes cutting from her to his device. “I wasn’t able to stabilize it and it’s reached critical levels. It cannot be shut down without expelling the energy first!”

Cat motioned with the gun towards the door. “Get back.”

Rigoro did as asked, backing towards the door. Cat saw droplets of blood hitting the floor as he moved and swallowed back a wave of guilt. If anything she did could save Kara, then it was worth it. Her decision made, Cat turned and leveled the gun at the control panel of the machine.

“No, don’t!” Cat ignored his pleas as she emptied the clip into the device.

The response was immediate. The machine shuddered, the humming Cat had observed earlier growing louder and louder. The dish on top sparked, the tip glowing of the satellite lighting up. Rigoro lunged for the door as something exploded. Cat covered her head and tore after him but was too slow to escape the shockwave that followed. Cat felt herself flung forward, her body consumed by some strange energy that overwhelmed her senses and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding this note from the previous chapter: "I just want you all to know that Dr. Rigoro Mortis is a real character from DC Comics. Everyone deserves the knowledge that that is a real, named character that actually exists. I'm also a huge comics nerd so I love throwing in the easter eggs. --captainjaybird"
> 
> And from me: Thank you to everyone for reading. Please let us know what you think. From here on out, I will answer reviews on chapters that I post and captainjaybird will continue to reply to reviews on his chapters. — elena6375


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by captainjaybird

After promising Supergirl’s help to Carter, Kara got off the phone with the boy. Her first instinct was to leave the building and take off, fly around desperately until she had found Cat, safe and sound. But Kara knew that was not the best way to do things.

Kara looked around the crime scene. She wouldn’t touch anything, would do nothing to disturb the integrity of the scene, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look for clues.

There wasn’t much there. Cat’s bag, still sprawled carelessly on the ground. The marks from where the car had sped away, predictably headed to the exit of the garage. Cat’s phone...which was still in Kara’s hand, where she had moved it from the crime scene. Oops. Kara gently put it back down close to where she thought she’d found it.

Kara closed her eyes in frustration and was instantly overwhelmed by her heightened senses, a stark reminder that she wasn’t human. But not being human meant she could detect things the DEO couldn’t. Kara kept her eyes closed, trying to filter out her hearing completely. She focused on her sense of smell and there...there was just the slightest note of scent. Chemical. Chloroform, Kara recognized. Wherever Cat was, she wasn’t conscious when they took her.

Kara felt her heart sink. If her abductors hadn’t needed to hide a visibly struggling woman, it was unlikely anyone would have taken notice. But then Kara remembered. Unconsciousness from chloroform was short acting. It was very unlikely that whoever had taken Cat had left National City. Kara could find her. Kara _would_ find her.

There was nothing left here to help her. Kara should wait for the team from the DEO to get here. But who knew how long that would take? The clock was ticking. Alex could call her with the results, and it was highly unlikely with the CatCo building empty that anyone would walk in and contaminate the crime scene. Her mind made up, Kara entered the stairwell, using her superspeed to take her to the floor of Cat’s office in seconds.

Everything in Kara was screaming at her to take off into the air right this second, but Alex was right. Cat was a powerful woman. There were a hundred reasons someone could have taken her, many of them business related.

Cat’s office door was locked, of course it had automatically locked closing behind Kara earlier, but the tiniest application of superstrength took care of that. Kara felt slightly guilty, but she would deal with that later. This was more important than a minor repair would be.

The first thing Kara did was flip through the papers on Cat’s desk. Human Resources occasionally sent notices about disgruntled ex-employees. It didn’t happen all that often, but Cat took it seriously when it did. Their pictures were distributed to security and as her assistant Kara had known all their faces. It bothered her that she didn’t, now. Somewhere along the way, keeping Cat safe had become a priority to Kara.

Cat’s laptop was next. As Cat’s assistant, Kara had been one of the very few, perhaps the only, people who knew the password. JosephPeter64, Carter’s middle name, what Kara later learned was Adam’s middle name, and what Kara very strongly suspected was Cat’s actual year of birth. It still worked, and Kara breathed a sigh of relief. The knowledge that Cat still trusted her that much, despite seeing her less, Kara tucked away for later.

Kara felt bad about going through Cat’s computer, but she knew it was for a good reason. She scrolled through Cat’s recent email, seeing nothing useful. No new notes saved, no projects recently scrapped, nothing on the computer at all to give any motive or any suspects.

Kara unclenched her fists. Getting upset would solve nothing. She was getting frustrated, and it was clouding her mind. She closed Cat’s laptop and walked to the balcony, taking off into the air. Flying almost always helped her center herself and clear her thoughts. The brisk air whooshed across her skin and the comforting hum of the city buzzed in her ears. Kara could hear it all, if she put her mind to it. Kara could...Kara could…

It was an insane idea. It would involve a degree of control over her superhearing Kara had never attempted. But she didn’t know what else to try, and she had to find Cat. Anything else was unthinkable.

Kara knew what Cat’s heartbeat sounded like. Over the years at CatCo, she’d memorized it, listening to the steady beating that stayed the same throughout every crisis, all the chaos. Secretly, Kara had even found herself seeking it out whenever she was stressed, taking comfort in the implacable constant of Cat Grant. Now, she just had to find that heartbeat in a city of 4 million of them

. Slowly, carefully, Kara removed the filters she always kept up around her hearing. The noise and chatter of the city rushed through. _I can’t believe he forgot dinner again--go to sleep honey--take a shot man!--goodnight, dear_. Kara tried to focus it all out, just hearing the heartbeats, every heartbeat, listening for the rhythm and--there! Cat’s heartbeat, Kara was sure of it, coming from an abandoned-looking facility on the outskirts of town.

Just as Kara was preparing to speed off to the facility, her hearing already attuned to it, she heard it--a deafening explosion, followed by a part of the facility’s roof being blown off. No. No! She couldn’t be too late. It was impossible. If Cat was hurt, if she, if she was....Kara couldn’t even say it to herself. She wouldn’t. Cat was fine. She _had_ to be fine.

Kara’s ears were still ringing from being tuned in so closely to the explosion when it went off and she couldn’t focus in on Cat’s heartbeat yet (it was still there, it had to be there). She had to remind herself not to break the sound barrier and break the windows of all the buildings, flying in at just under Mach 1.

Kara got there in under a minute, flying in through the roof. Pieces of some kind of machine seemed to be scattered everywhere, with the flaming wreckage of it smoldering against the wall. Cat lay by the door, apparently unconscious—or dead.

“No!” Kara gasped, and in that moment achieved a sparkling clarity. She had lost a whole planet, but she couldn’t lose Cat. Cat was...Cat was everything. The way she looked at Kara like she saw all of her, the way her smile lingered in Kara’s memory, how her praise could light Kara up for weeks—somewhere along the way Kara had fallen for Cat Grant.

_Please, please Rao let her be okay_ , Kara prayed, _she never has to know how I feel, nothing has to change, just please, let her be alive. I’ll do anything_.

Slowly, carefully, Kara floated down to Cat’s prone body, reaching out a hand to feel the pulse that had to be thrumming in Cat’s neck. When she felt it, Kara let out a sob of relief, not realizing until then that she’d been crying.

Now that she knew Cat was alive, Kara took in the rest of her surroundings. There was nothing to salvage in this room, but in the hallway outside a man was lying on the floor. Kara felt anger burn through her at the thought that this was probably the man who took Cat, but he was safely unconscious. She could deal with him later.

She called Alex, who picked up immediately.

“I’ve found her. She’s unconscious. There was an explosion of some kind, it looks like a machine went off. There’s a man unconscious too, I think he took Cat. Can you come here and take care of all that? I’m taking Cat to the DEO.”

“Kara, wait!” Alex interjected. “We’ll send a team out, but are you sure bringing her here is the best idea?”

“We don’t know what this explosion did, Alex,” Kara replied. “I’ve bringing her in just in case.”

“Okay,” Alex agreed. “Make sure everything’s secure before you leave.”

“I will,” Kara promised, and ended the call. She took a heavy piece of metal and bound it around the unconscious man. That should keep him there until the DEO arrived. Then she went over to Cat, and with unending gentleness picked her up and carried her in her arms. She felt so light and fragile. Kara held her close, and took off into the night sky.

\---------------

Awareness came slowly. The first thing Cat could tell was that she seemed to be on some kind of bed—one smaller and less comfortable than her own. She felt some aches and pain, but nothing too serious. Cat tried to open her eyes but the light was blinding and she slammed them back shut. _Slowly, slowly_ , she told herself.

A few moments later, Cat opened her eyes much more carefully. She appeared to be in some sort of makeshift hospital room, in what appeared uncomfortably like some kind of government facility. The monitors attached to her beeped gently, reassuringly steady. In a chair in the corner of the room sat Kara, dressed in her Supergirl outfit. She seemed to be lost in thought, staring at a point to Cat’s left. Cat assumed that was why she hadn’t noticed her opening her eyes.

“Supergirl,” Cat said through dry, cracked lips. Kara nearly jumped out of her seat.

“Cat!” she breathed. “Oh, you’re awake, I should go get Alex, I mean the doctor.”

“Wait,” Cat said. “I...I need water.” It was true, she was parched, but Cat was stalling. She didn’t want to see anyone but Kara, just yet.

Kara, ever obedient, crossed to the sink in the corner of the room and filled a cup of water. Their fingers brushed as she handed it to Cat, and Cat felt that annoying flutter in her stomach. _Really? Now?_ she chided herself. It was neither the time nor the place.

Cat gratefully drank her water. “Thank you,” she said honestly. “For everything. For...for saving me. I assume it was you who found me?”

“Yes. I listened for...I was able to hear you.” For some reason, the girl seemed embarrassed, but Cat marveled at the apparent scope of her power. “Do you...do you remember what happened?” Kara continued.

“Yes. The man who arranged my kidnapping, his name was Doctor Rigoro Mortis.” Kara’s eyes opened wide. Cat huffs a bit of a laugh. “Yes, really,” she said dryly. “I imagine it must have looked quite nice on his PhD from mad scientist university.”

Kara smiled just a bit, but her eyes were still concerned. “There was an explosion. It looked like it was in the same room as you were. Do you know what caused it?”

“There was a machine,” Cat recalled. “Some kind of device. I don’t know what it was supposed to do. I pulled a lever to destabilize it and then I...well, I shot it until it exploded.”

“Cat! That was too dangerous! You shouldn’t have done that!” Kara seemed genuinely angry.

“And what else was I supposed to do? Leave it up and running so he could hurt you?” Cat was just as furious.

“Yes!” Kara snapped. “I’m the superhero, I know the risks!”

“Well that risk was unacceptable,” Cat argued, “when there was something I could do to stop it.”

Kara sighed and seemed to decide that this wasn’t the time for the argument. “Do you know why he took you?”

Cat paused. Yes, she did. But she was afraid that if she told Kara the answer, the girl would pull away. Kara seemed to sense her hesitation.

“Well?”

“He...he seemed to think you’d come after me. Since you’re so closely associated with CatCo.” _With me_ went unspoken.

Kara took a step backwards in horror. “No. Cat, Ms. Grant, I—”

Cat held up a hand. “Supergirl, if you’re having any self-sacrificing notions of pulling away from CatCo I won’t let you. We depend on you.” _I depend on you_ , Cat thought.

“He took you to get to me.”

“Yes, he did. And you found me. No permanent damage done.”

“We don’t know that!” Kara seemed upset. “We don’t know what effect that explosion had! You checked out okay, but there were some irregular readings—”

Cat felt cold fear flow through her. Mortis had seemed so frightened when she had overloaded the device. What had it done to her? Would it be permanent? Cat couldn’t leave CatCo, leave Carter—

“Carter,” she said. “Is he—”

“He’s safe, Ms. Grant,” Kara told her before she could finish her question. “And he knows I found you. I called him while you were still asleep.”

“Thank you,” Cat said again, but it seemed Kara couldn’t look her in the eye. She was pulling away, just as Cat feared.

Kara turned and started walking away. “I should really go get—”

Suddenly, Cat couldn’t stand for Kara to leave her alone. “Kara,” she said.

_That_ stopped the girl in her tracks. She turned around. “Um, uh, what did you say?” Kara replied, moving a hand up to adjust glasses that weren’t there and trying (and failing) to disguise the movement as brushing her hair.

“Kara,” Cat repeated. “Don’t leave.”

“Hahaha, Ms. Grant,” Kara laughed unconvincingly. “I thought we cleared this up, you saw me with your assistant, who really does look quite different—”

“Don’t do this,” Cat growled. “Not now. Not while I’m lying here in some unknown facility not knowing what the hell happened to me. I don’t know how you pulled that trick with the double but I’ve known for months and I won’t have you lying to me. I won’t have it!” Her voice seemed to have risen quite a bit without her permission.

Kara bit her lip. “Ms. Grant…”

“Don’t, Kara,” Cat sighed, feeling the full weight of her tiredness pushing down on her. “Stop treating me like an idiot. I _know_.”

Kara moved closer. Cat looked at her through weary eyes. “You said you’d fire me,” Kara said, sounding defeated. “I was afraid you’d make me leave.”

“I may have been...rash,” Cat admitted. “I didn’t know CatCo was so important to you. Important enough that you’d lie, for _months_ ,” Cat’s tone was pointed, “to keep it.”

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Kara said, sounding like she meant it enough to soften some of Cat’s anger. “I told you, it makes me feel human. _You_ make me feel human.”

“Why would you want to feel human when you can do all this?” Cat asked, gesturing her hand through the air. “Why would would you want to feel human, when you’re something so much better?”

“Don’t you see?” Kara replied. “I’m not better. I can do things you can’t, but if I ever thought I was superior, can’t you see how dangerous that would make me? How I’d go from being a hero to something else, something like my uncle? I can fly, Ms. Grant, but CatCo makes me feel grounded. And you, you’re a big part of that.”

Cat was stunned into silence. Finally, she said “I meant it when I said you’d always have a job with me, Kara.”

Something vulnerable came up in Kara’s face, and voice soft, she asked “So you’re not sending me away?”

“I would never send you away.” It was more than Cat meant to say, but the look Kara was giving her could set her on fire, heat vision or not.

“Cat…”

Cat didn’t know how to deal with the intensity of this connection. So, as always, she deflected.

“We’ll have to talk about this more later, you know,” Cat said. “But that was why I gave you such a private office, so that _even more_ people wouldn’t catch on. You’re a bit obvious, dear.”

Kara laughed. “Openness was greatly valued on Krypton. When I first got here, I struggled with the little white lies like ‘does this dress make me look fat?’”

“Remind me to never ask you that question, then.”

“Oh, you could never look bad in a dress.” Kara blushed. “I mean, I mean…”

_Interesting_. Cat filed that away for later.

At that moment, the door opened and a woman with a brunette bob came walking in. Cat vaguely recalled her as Agent Scully—Alex Danvers. Yet another thing she was supposed to have overlooked. But then, before Agent Danvers even opened her mouth, Cat heard, clear as day, in Alex’s voice:

_What is Kara doing standing so close to Cat Grant? She can’t honestly think the woman won’t notice the resemblance at that range. Why she always has to make my job so much harder…_

“What was that?” Cat asked.

“What was what?” Alex responded, eyebrow raised.

“What you said.” Cat rolled her eyes. “Calling me ‘the woman’ within my hearing, honestly.”

“I...I didn’t say that,” Alex said slowly. “I thought it.”

“That’s preposterous,” Cat scoffed. “Mind-reading only happens in science fiction.”

“You’re sitting in a secret government facility, after you were rescued by a space alien, because you were kidnapped by a mad scientist. And the fact that you’re having mind-reading side effects is unbelievable to you?” Alex accused.

“Alex! Be nice,” Kara admonished.

_**Of course** she sticks up for Cat “Personally Hung the Moon” Grant_ , Alex thought. Cat heard her.

Cat’s mouth dropped open. She could _read minds_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after 7400 words, you get the first actual conversation between Cat and Kara. We love the slowest of slow burns.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by elena6375

“So other than the lacerations on your wrists and a few other scrapes from the explosion, you have a mild concussion, and a couple of bruised ribs.” Alex flipped the chart with Cat’s medical status closed. “Not too bad, considering.” _Considering that the other guy we pulled from the wreckage had three out of four major limbs broken_ , Alex thought.

“So you got him?” Cat asked. Agent Scully traded a sharp glance with Kara. “Mortis,” she clarified, trying to sit up in bed and wincing when her ribs ached.

Kara surged forward and laid a hand on her shoulder, gently pressing her back down. Cat tried to scowl up at Kara but the cape seemed to imbue the girl with enough courage to ignore the look that would have usually sent her quailing. The pressure on Cat’s shoulder increased. Taking the hint, Cat gave up and settled back into uncomfortable mattress.

“We got him,” Alex said finally. “He’s under heavy guard in another section of the...facility.” _Three rooms down, twenty-four hour guard, displaying some of the same readings as Cat but significantly less substantial..._

“Some of the same readings?” Cat asked, trying to make sense of Alex’s rapidfire thoughts. “Are you saying that whatever is causing...this side effect...could be happening to that madman?”

Alex sighed. “Look, we are going to need a lot more tests before we can even try to get you any answers; so, if you’re up to it, I’d like to get started.”

“What kind of tests?” Cat asked, her eyes narrowing.

Kara’s fingers flexed on her shoulder and Cat glanced up at the hero. Kara met her gaze and seemed to realize that she still had her hand on Cat’s shoulder. Clearing her throat, Kara removed her hand as if the contact burned her.

“A functional MRI to start,” Alex said, rubbing her forehead with the heel of her palm. _There has to be a scientific explanation for this_ , Alex thought wearily.

“And if all that doesn’t get us anywhere?” Cat pressed. She didn’t like the idea of being poked at in some nameless government facility but an MRI was a pretty standard test.

_Impatient_ , Alex lamented in her head. “Let’s just start there and see how it goes.” She gave Cat a tight smile.

“Cat,” Kara started. “Alex knows what she’s doing. There’s no one I trust more.” Kara offered her a soft smile.

Cat felt herself waver. “Fine, let’s get started,” Cat sighed.

“Great. Someone will be in to take you to for your tests.” Alex took a pen and wrote the orders in her chart. _Looks like I’m not the only one who’s a sucker for Kara’s puppy dog routine_.

“I heard that,” Cat scowled.

_Good_ , Alex thought smugly. She clicked her pen shut and shoved it into the pocket of her lab coat. “I’ll be back when we have your results.” Alex looked at Kara pointedly. “Are you coming?”

“Actually,” Kara said, glancing at Cat. “I’d like to stay, if you don’t mind.”

Cat considered that. Being present during tests wasn’t something Cat usually allowed. Of anyone. It made her feel vulnerable, exposed. But having Kara with her now—standing guard over her in the suit and cape—Cat found her presence comforting.

“You can stay,” she said, attempting to shrug in nonchalance and regretting it immediately. “Remind me not to do that again,” Cat hissed, her body aching.

“Do you need anything?” Kara asked, hovering nearby. “I can call Alex back.”

“No, no.” Cat waved dismissively. “I just have to try and not move certain ways.”

“If you’re sure...” Kara trailed off.

“Yes, because I’m sure your sister will be sending someone soon—she’s probably eager to get me out of her government facility,” Cat said wryly.

Kara smiled at that. “She just worries.”

“I can imagine.” Cat was, after all, a member of the press.

They fell silent after that and that’s when Cat realized—Kara was in the room and she could hear nothing but the beeping of the monitors that she was connected to. Cat narrowed her eyes at Kara, her mouth dropping open slightly.

Now that she thought about it, Cat couldn’t recall hearing anything from Kara since the moment she woke up. Cat scrutinized Kara, watching as the girl’s eyes widened and she squirmed under Cat’s gaze.

“Think something,” Cat ordered. She needed to know if this was some kind of fluke.

“Like what?” Kara shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

Nothing. Cat heard nothing. She opened her mouth to tell her this when the door opened and an agent walked in.

“Ms. Grant?” He smiled politely at her but his buzzed hair cut and tactical outfit did little to assuage Cat’s worry despite the attempt to wear a benign expression. “I'm here to take you for the MRI.” _Lo llevaremos para las pruebas y entonces podemos dejar._

“Is that,” Cat cocked her head to the side. “Spanish?”

The agent smiled devilishly as he unlocked the wheels on the Cat’s bed. _Sin lectura de la mente para usted._ “Shall we?”

“Your sister is smarter than I thought,” Cat threw over her shoulder.

Kara laughed.

They moved quickly, rolling down the hall with Kara keeping pace beside her. People walked briskly past, some saluting Supergirl, some too consumed in their own thoughts to notice, or care, that Cat Grant was wheeling by, hearing everything that was passing through their minds. And still, from the spot where Kara was standing, Cat heard nothing.

It took some maneuvering to get Cat on the table without jostling herself too much, hardly listening to the spiel the agent was giving her over the loudspeaker about not moving her head as he started the machine. A pair of earplugs tempered the loud mechanical chirping as the scanner moved around her, and Cat closed her eyes against the feeling of being trapped.

Cat tried to keep her breathing even, they had warned her that the scan would take nearly an hour. Kara hadn’t been allowed to stay in the room, retreating with the tech into the booth, but every once in awhile was the one to come over the speaker and check in with her. Cat couldn’t hear the tech’s thoughts from inside the booth, a relief considering he was still translating most of his thoughts into spanish.

As she lie in the machine, Cat tried to decide how she felt about these new developments. Mind-reading, if that was truly what it was, could be useful, especially in her line at work. Cat just wished that she knew _why_ that explosion had left her with this ability and if there would be any other side effects.

She took a small nap inside the machine, only stirring when Kara gently laid a hand on top of hers.

“Are you ready?”

“I suppose,” Cat nodded, still half asleep.

Kara helped her back into bed while their escort hovered nearby. She dozed on the way back to the lab they’d previously been in, the hallways clearer than they had been earlier. Cat wondered if that had to do with, what she assumed was, the late hour—it’s not like she could tell the exact time of night in this wretched place.

“Alex will be back as soon as she gets the results,” Kara said conversationally once they were alone again.

“I hope it's soon,” Cat sighed. She'd tried calling her son earlier and been informed by his father that he'd been asleep. “I really do want to get out of here. I'd like to be home before Carter.”

“Can I ask you something?” Kara said, crossing her arms over her chest.

That pose made the muscles in Kara's arms stand out, drawing Cats eye. “You just did.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “You know what I meant,” she said.

“Well?” Cat asked when Kara didn't immediately continue.

“So, you can really hear everyone’s thoughts?” she asked.

“Seems like it.” Cat huffed.

“What do you—?” She shifted nervously.

“What have I been hearing?” Cat guessed.

Kara raised and dropped her shoulders in a shrug that was meant to be half-hearted but Cat could read the uncertainty in her eyes. That was when Cat realized—Kara didn’t know that she couldn’t hear her. Cat was suddenly very interested in what Kara thought she’d heard.

“What are you—?” Cat broke off when Alex entered the room.

“I have your results,” Alex said, closing the door behind her as she entered.

Cat sighed. At least she wasn't going to be hanging around waiting for results. “So what's the verdict?”

“The scan came out normal, for the most part.” Alex perched herself on a stool beside a computer monitor, booting up the system and navigating to the results—it all looked a multi-colored Rorschach to her. “There's elevated activity in your right parahippocampal gyrus,” she said, pointing out the area. “See this red area here?” _The activity is higher than we've seen before in humans._

“So what does that mean?” Cat asked, eyes narrowing on the screen.

“We think it's the cause of your new...ability,” Alex said, lowering her hands the her lap. _But we still don't know if this is permanent or not._

“So you still don't know anything,” Cat huffed.

“We know there isn't any sign of damage,” Alex said, adopting a soothing tone. “And, if you're willing, there's still one test that we can perform.” _And we can test if this is truly mind-reading or not_.

“Might as well,” Cat said.

_Yes!_ Alex’s smile as damn near gleeful as she stood and opened the door, her plan becoming clear when the man Cat remembered as Hank Henshaw walked into the room.

“Ms. Grant,” he inclined his head in greeting. “Pleasure seeing you again _.”_

“Director Henshaw, was it?” Cat asked. _Although, if I remember correctly, he could shift into that green alien that helped Supergirl during Myriad_ , Cat thought.

“Glad to see you remember me. But, I can shift into more than just that ‘green alien’,” Hank said, smirking. _And, my name is actually J’onn J'onzz._

“How—?” Cat started.

“You didn't think you were the only one with that particular skill, did you?”

* * *

“Supergirl, can I borrow you for a second?”

Kara turned her attention from the silent volley occurring in front of her to where Lucy had poked her head into the room. “What’s up?”

“How long have the two of them been at it?” Lucy looked over to where Cat and J’onn were, Cat sitting up in bed and J’onn standing with his arms crossed.

“Not long,” Kara said. “Maybe five minutes? But neither have them have spoken a word.”

“Well, can you blame ‘em?” Alex added. “J’onn hasn’t had a non-hostile telepath to communicate with in decades.”

Kara nodded, knowing her sister was referring to the white martian incident.

“We _can_ hear you, you know,” Cat drawled, turning her attention from J’onn for the first time in minutes.

Kara traded chagrined glances with Lucy but Alex didn’t seem the least bit abashed. “Sorry,” Kara mumbled.

“Agent Lane, didn’t you have some sort of emergency to inform Supergirl about?” J’onn smirked, his eyes dancing.

“Right!” Lucy said. “Supergirl, there’s a fire on an oil platform off the coast. They have reinforcements on the way but they’re too far out—”

“Will you okay if I—?” Kara started, looking over to Cat.

“Yes, yes. I'll be fine,” Cat said, waving a hand in dismissal. “Go save the day, Supergirl.”

“Okay,” Kara said, pushing herself off of the wall. “I'll be back.”

“So, it's got to be a little weird having Cat here, huh?” Lucy said, following her out.

“Tell me about it,” Kara said, shaking her head. “I'll catch up with you when I get back.” Lucy waved her off as she took off into the night, heading for the fire.

Having Cat inside the DEO was one thing. But having Cat here while she, apparently, had known Kara was Supergirl all along _and_ could read minds was something else entirely. And that something else was complicating a rather large revelation that Kara had been having before Cat had opened her eyes and dropped the proverbial bombshell.

Because when Kara had heard the explosion, fear had cut her to the bone. She'd landed in the wreckage, quickly X-raying everything in sight and praying, begging Rao to spare Cat. And when she found Cat, unconscious but still breathing, Kara had never felt more relieved.

It had surprised her, the intensity of that feeling, and Kara had found herself sitting at Cat's bedside trying to analyze what it meant. Because it wasn't as if Cat hadn't been in danger before—Kara had been anxious in those instances, had thrown herself into saving Cat each and every time—but it was the thought that Kara would never see Cat Grant again, after everything they'd been through, that had frightened her the most.

So as Kara waited, watching the rise and fall of Cat’s chest, listening to the steady beating of her heart, she realized that Cat Grant meant more to her than a boss, a mentor, or even a friend. And as Cat stirred, Kara's heart had expanded, filling her with a lightness and a warmth that she hadn't felt in a long time but realized had been building inside of her for a long time.

Kara _liked_ Cat Grant.

It had been that single thought that had stuck in her mind as Cat awoke, called her out on her identity, and then discovered her new ability. So, obviously, Cat must have heard her—Kara had been practically shouting the revelation in her brain—and must have chosen to ignore it because she didn't feel the same way.

Kara arrived at the burning oil rig, hovering in mid-air as she assessed the situation. The fire was growing out of control despite the best efforts of those around it. Kara drew in a deep breath to prepare and blow the fire out with her ice breath—she'd have to deal with her inappropriate infatuation with Cat Grant later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, the next one might not be out for a while since Charlie's sister is in town. As always, thank you so much for the kudos and comments. They really make our day! -- elena6375


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter by captainjaybird

Cat looked at J’onn. J’onn looked at Cat. Cat decided to test the waters. _You can hear me?_ she thought, staring at him.

 _Yes,_ J’onn thought back, and Cat could feel his presence, solid and steady, in her mind. _It is an ability my people had._

 _Had?_ Cat questioned, not missing the strange use of the past tense.

 _I am the last of my kind,_ J’onn replied, and his sadness was a wellspring within him. Cat was barely touching it and she felt grief sharp in her mind. _The last green Martian_.

 _I’m sorry,_ Cat thought, hoping J’onn could sense her genuine regret.

 _No, I am,_ J’onn replied and though his face remained mostly impassive, Cat could catch a hint of a grimace. _That is too much of an emotional topic for a first-time psychic connection, especially since you’re unpracticed._

 _So this is a thing that can be mastered?_ Cat asked, already tired of hearing the thoughts of everyone around her indiscriminately. _A skill, just like anything else?_

 _For my kind it was_. J’onn sounded thoughtful. _For you, I don’t know_.

 _Well, that’s helpful,_ Cat thought sarcastically. _Glad the government’s as competent as ever_.

 _You’ll find we don’t have quite as much red tape at this agency._ Cat saw a faint, satisfied smile on J’onn’s face. _One of the benefits of not officially existing._

 _Oh?_ Cat raised one eyebrow. _And what is the name of this secret government agency?_

 _That would be telling, Ms. Grant._ There was definitely a satisfied smile on J’onn’s face now. _Maybe we can talk about that later, if you’ll consent to sign an NDA_.

Cat was vaguely aware of Alex and Kara talking about her and J’onn. “We _can_ hear you, you know,” she chastised. Kara seemed embarrassed although Alex didn’t seem to care. Quickly, Kara was dispatched to deal with some emergency.

Back to the secret government agency. Asking had been worth a try, but it clearly hadn’t worked. Although...Cat realized that she had rather less conventional means to acquire intel now. _I suppose I could sign an NDA,_ Cat thought, while subtly trying to _push_ in the direction of J’onn’s mind. If he had information locked up in there…

To her surprise, Cat encountered what felt quite a lot like a solid brick wall. _Ms. Grant_. J’onn’s tone was very serious. _It’s one thing to casually overhear the surface thoughts people are having. It’s quite another to purposefully force your way into their minds. We always reserved that as the absolute last choice in high stakes situations._

 _I’m sorry,_ Cat thought, ashamed as the implications of what she’d tried to do hit her. _I...I haven’t really thought of the rules for this sort of thing._

 _That’s understandable,_ J’onn allowed, _it’s only been a couple hours you’ve had these powers. But with something where you can reach the most intimate, private parts of someone...you have to exercise restraint. I think it would be helpful to tell you the guidelines we followed on Mars._

 _Yes,_ Cat agreed, _and I would be interested to learn more about your culture._ The drive to _know_ that made her such a great reporter was intrigued by the story lurking underneath, even if it never saw print.

 _Thank you,_ J’onn thought. _I don’t often get to talk about it. But this is a_ **_private_ ** _conversation, not an interview._

 _Of course,_ Cat acquiesced. _You know how I take my journalistic integrity seriously. Confidentiality is an important part of that._

 _Good._ J’onn nodded. _Martian culture was very different from Earth’s. In a society where everyone was telepathically linked, there were less secrets, less artifice. Learning to hide myself and become Hank Henshaw was very difficult. It was the first time in my life I’d ever really had to deal with duplicity. Mars was more open than Earth. And it was very communal. If one person hurt, the rest of the community could feel their pain. Mars could be a harsh environment, but together we made it work._

 _It must have been devastating to lose that, to become the last,_ Cat thought. An image of fire and screaming flashed across her mind, and Cat didn’t think it came from her own head. _I wish there was something I could say other than ‘I’m sorry.’_

 _I can feel your compassion through this connection._ J’onn looked her dead in the eye. _It has been a long time since I was able to feel something like that. You are a different woman than I thought, Cat Grant._

Cat was not going to be the one to look away. _Surely you know the importance of maintaining an image, ‘Hank Henshaw.’_

 _I do._ J’onn looked away slightly. _H’ronmeer forgive me, but I have learned to live with a certain degree of dishonesty._

 _It’s required for living in our society._ Cat shrugged, and then winced at the pain in her ribs. _It seems like Kara struggles with it too._

 _Honor and truth were important in Kryptonian culture_ , J’onn told her, _but we should go over the rules I mentioned._

 _First,_ he continued, _you should never pry into the deepest parts of someone’s mind without permission, unless it is an emergency situation. And I mean an_ **_emergency_** _. It is a tremendous violation of someone’s agency and privacy._

 _I understand,_ Cat thought shakily. She had not truly considered what having her powers _meant_.

 _We don’t know the extent of your abilities,_ J’onn told her, _but if you have the ability to wipe or alter someone’s memories, that’s a last resort too._

 _Have you done it?_ Cat asked.

 _Yes,_ J’onn answered, and Cat could feel his regret. _It was necessary. To protect Kara._ He looked at Cat seriously. _Your feelings for her are stronger than you let on. I can feel it through the connection._

 _I would never do anything...improper,_ Cat defended herself. _I am aware that she’s younger than me and my employee. I can feel your protectiveness though the connection too, and I promise you I would never willingly harm her._

_I believe you. Can you read her mind?_

_No,_ Cat admitted. _Can you?_

 _No,_ J’onn replied. _Invulnerability to psychic powers appears to be one of the Kryptonians’ abilities on Earth._

 _Interesting,_ Cat thought appraisingly. _Does she know?_

 _I don’t think so. But she is the one person on Earth I can’t be certain of,_ J’onn concedes. _The best course if you wanted to know would probably be to ask her._

 _Perhaps._ Cat tapped her fingers on the railing of the bed. _Are there more rules?_

 _Reading surface thoughts was acceptable in my culture, and it is still an automatic habit for me,_ J’onn revealed. _It is sometimes necessary with this job. But it is not the norm in your culture, and you should be careful._

 _I can’t control it,_ Cat thought, reluctant to admit weakness but knowing J’onn likely already knew. _I hear everything. It’s overwhelming._

 _There are exercises I can try to teach you,_ J’onn offered. _Ways to close your mind. But right now you are tired and injured, and I think it would do more harm than good. We can start tomorrow._

“Tomorrow?” Cat gasped, startled out of their mental conversation. “You can’t be telling me you plan to keep me here?!”

“Just for a few days,” J’onn reassured her. “I don’t harbor any delusions about being able to keep you away from CatCo. I know from Kara how hard you work, and how hard you’ve fought for it. But it’s 3 am Saturday morning, and we would like to keep you under observation for the weekend.”

“Fine,” Cat agreed reluctantly. “When it’s a decent hour I’ll call Carter’s father and explain he needs to keep him for the weekend. But this is a one-time deal.”

“Understood. You should get some more sleep.”

It was at that moment that Cat realized Kara still wasn’t back. “Where—” she began, surprised to find out how unsettled that made her.

“Supergirl is still putting out that fire,” J’onn interrupted. “I’m sure she’ll be back as soon as she can.” Cat didn’t think she liked the glint of understanding in his eye.

“See if I care,” Cat deflected, rolling away from him. “I’m going to try to get some sleep.”

“Good idea,” J’onn said, and Cat could tell from the inflection in his voice that he hadn’t been fooled by her nonchalant act. “I’ll be back at 0800.”

Military time. Cat snorted and rolled her eyes. It seemed the Martian had acclimated well to armed forces culture. He’d certainly had her fooled the first time she met him, she hated to admit.

Cat closed her eyes, finally feeling the tiredness seeping into her bones. More quickly than she’d expected, she was fast asleep.

 

\---------------

 

If Kara was being honest with herself, she was kind of taking the “long route” back to the DEO. She didn’t feel quite ready to see Cat yet. Kara was deeply embarrassed by her crush. There was no way Cat wouldn’t know about it, what with her new abilities. Kara groaned. She was screwed.

It had been nice of Cat to not say anything though. Or fire her. Was that a thing you could fire someone for? Kara wasn’t sure. Although...Cat _had_ told her when she’d woken up and Kara had finally confessed to being Supergirl that she’d always have a job with her. And she had her powers by then and Kara was pretty sure she was broadcasting I LIKE CAT GRANT loudly. Maybe she didn’t care?

It’s not like Cat would ever see her as an equal. Kara was probably beneath her notice. Not _worthy_ to date Cat Grant. Maybe Supergirl would have been, but now Cat knew Kara was Supergirl. Would they lose the closeness they’d had when Kara was wearing the cape? Kara had hugged Cat during Myriad. And Cat had hugged her back, held her desperately close. With her Kryptonian perfect memory, Kara could recall every moment of it—the way Cat’s hands had gripped her shoulders, the feel of her body against her, the smell of her expensive shampoo.

Kara did a loop in the air, wishing the wind against her would cool her down more. But she always stayed physically at a perfect temperature; this was a more emotional warmth.

Sighing, Kara flipped on her back in the air to look at the stars. She was into the desert now, and no one was there to see her. Kara looked at all the stars in the sky, seeing more than any human ever could. She remembered being up in the stars, ready to die, glad it was at least peaceful. People said your life flashed before your eyes, but Kara’s didn’t. Instead, there was just the vastness of space around her, welcoming her home in the most permanent of embraces.

It wasn’t that Kara wasn’t glad to be alive, because she was. She just also wasn’t as afraid of death as most people were. She had a family, an entire planet waiting for her.

Kara’s eyes found Rao still burning in the sky, the star still there in the place she had memorized in the star charts, a way to remember home. It was a common misconception that there would be a dark hole where Krypton was, but the planet had exploded, not the star. Kara found it comforting that she could still see Rao the father, even if she no longer walked in his light.

Kara was near the DEO now, and felt calmed down enough by her contemplation of the stars to face Cat. She landed, and made her way in.

Her boots echoed quietly in the empty corridors as Kara made her way to the infirmary, where Cat was being kept. She slowed as she approached the door. _Was_ she ready to face Cat?

It didn’t really matter if she was ready or not, Kara supposed. She couldn’t avoid Cat forever. Bracing herself, Kara opened the door.

Cat was fast asleep. She was lying on her side, face smooth and unworried in slumber. The sight took Kara’s breath away. She’d never seen Cat so unguarded, and she didn’t think she’d ever seen something so beautiful. Kara was half aware that this was a stolen moment, and she wanted to hang onto it as long as possible.

There was a chair by Cat’s bedside. Kara sat down. She didn’t need to sleep, technically. She often used her nights to paint, although she generally slept a few hours a night out of habit. Alex said she thought it was good for Kara to dream sometimes, to let off psychological pressure. But that didn’t mean she had to sleep every night. Just some. And not tonight.

Kara settled in. The chair wasn’t very comfortable, but it would do. She was perfectly content to sit here and listen to the beat of Cat’s heart, so reassuringly steady. After being so scared when Cat was kidnapped, this moment of relative peace and security was just what Kara needed. She would enjoy it while it lasted.

It was only a couple hours later when Cat began to stir. Apparently her internal clock wouldn’t let her sleep past 6 am. Kara smiled, and straightened up in her chair, concentrating on keeping her mind perfectly blank.

“Good morning, Ms. Grant.”

“Uh?” Cat groaned, and Kara quickly stifled her laugh. Cat would _kill_ her for finding her grogginess amusing.

“It’s me, Ms. Grant. Kara. We’re at the D—the government facility. It’s Saturday morning,” Kara explained.

“Oh.” Cat sat up. Kara fought down the urge to pat down her bedhead, and then panicked internally over whether Cat would be able to tell she wanted to.

“Um, Ms. Grant, um—” Kara stumbled over her words.

“What, _Kiera?_ ” Cat said pointedly. Now that she had admitted she knew Kara’s name, Kiera had apparently become Kara’s name when she annoyed her.

“You have, uh, bedhead,” Kara managed to say.

“Ah,” Cat said, running her hands through her hair and fixing it. “Of course.”

“So, how are you feeling?” Kara asked, thinking _mind blank mind blank mind blank_.

“Fine,” Cat said. “A bit tired.”

It took Kara longer than usual to respond, since she was preoccupied with keeping her mind empty.

“Oh. Uh. That’s great. Yeah, that’s great. Really good!” Kara hoped her spaciness wasn’t too obvious.

Apparently it was. “Kara,” Cat said flatly. “What is going on with you?”

“Nothing! Ha ha,” Kara laughed fakely. “Absolutely nothing, I am totally normal, no weirdness going on here. Anti-weirdness. The opposite of weirdness. Um, complete and total un-weirdness.”

“Are you freaking out because you think I can read your mind?” Cat asked.

“Um, no?” Kara lied. “Wait...what do you mean I _think_ you can read my mind?”

“I mean that I can’t read your special alien brain,” Cat snapped. “So whatever inane secrets you have are safe, and you can stop rambling, you’re giving me a headache.”

“Oh. Sorry,” Kara apologized quickly. “I’ll go.”

“Kara, wait,” Cat said, reaching out and grabbing Kara’s hand to stop her when she got up to go. “I’m frustrated and stressed out by this situation, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I...I would like it if you stayed. Please.”

The “please” stopped Kara dead in her tracks. She’d never heard Cat ask for anything so nicely. Then, belatedly, she realized: _Cat couldn’t read her mind_. Cat had no idea about Kara’s crush. Things could go back to normal between them—if Kara could pull off “normal” herself.

“Sure,” she said, sitting back down. “Of course.”

“Thank you,” Cat said, and Kara noticed she still hadn’t let go of her hand. She kept her hand right where it was, not going to be the one to pull away.

“Of course, Ms. Grant,” Kara answered. “You don’t have to worry. I won’t leave you.” Internally, Kara winced. She may have given away more than she intended with that statement. She _sucked_  at playing it cool.

Cat had softened, though. She looked down and seemed to realize she was still holding Kara’s hand, abruptly snatching hers away. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay,” Kara interrupted. “I, I didn’t mind it. It was, um, nice.”

“Nice?” Cat questioned and something in her voice sounded...interested? Kara was sure she was imagining things.

“Yes,” Kara said, pulling up her Supergirl confidence. “It was nice.”

Cat quirked an eyebrow and appeared to be thinking. Right as she opened her mouth to reply, J’onn walked in.

“Good morning, Ms. Grant,” he said. “It’s a little earlier than intended but I see you’re awake. It would be a good time to start those exercises.”

“Of course,” Cat answered, and Kara, seeing she might be a distraction, left the room.

The next two days passed in a blur of activity. Kara didn’t see too much of Cat, who was working closely with J’onn, but true to her promise she didn’t leave the DEO, except for Supergirl emergencies. She didn’t stay by Cat’s bedside on Saturday night, fearing she might be an intrusion, but she was there to wake Cat up. After that, she was called away to deal with an armed robbery, and spent most of the rest of the day flying from emergency to emergency.

When she made it back to the DEO they were just discharging Cat, who seemed relieved to see her.

“You’re back,” Cat said. “I was hoping you might take me home.”

Kara’s mind completely stopped. Was Cat asking her to _fly_ her home? Which would involved holding her…

“I, what?” she asked.

“I’d like you to take me home,” Cat explained. “I don’t want to risk Carter seeing me getting out of some ominous government vehicle if he gets back before I do, but he’ll be thrilled to see Supergirl.”

“Oh. Yes. Sure. I’ll fly you home. No problem,” Kara said, twisting her fingers anxiously.

“Good.” Cat nodded, and walked out the door into the desert. “How do you want to do this?” she asked, turning to Kara.

“Um, you could put your hands around my neck, to have something to hold onto,” Kara said. She felt all the oxygen leave her body when Cat stepped close and wrapped her arms around her neck. “Right!” Kara squeaked. “And I’ll, uh, I’ll just pick you up like this,” she said as she bent a little and swept Cat’s legs up, one arm cradling her knees and the other supporting her back. Kara was dimly aware that she was holding Cat in a bridal carry just like Kal sometimes carried Lois. The thought made her blush, and she hoped Cat didn’t see it.

“Right, then,” Kara managed. “Here we go.” She took off, slower than she would usually, mindful of her passenger.

Cat gasped as they ascended and buried her face into Kara’s neck, hands tightening on her shoulders. “I don’t like heights,” she muttered, and Kara could feel the movement of Cat’s lips against the sensitive skin on her neck. She didn’t dare try to respond.

The flight was a quiet agony for Kara, so aware of the weight and warmth of Cat’s body in her arms, the press of her face against her neck. Finally, they reached the balcony of Cat’s penthouse.

Kara put her down gently. “There you go, Ms. Grant,” she said quietly. “You’re home. It looks like Carter’s not here yet.”

Cat still looked anxious. “Home. Yes.”

“Are you okay?” Kara asked carefully.

“I’m fine,” Cat answered. “Just...just a bit nervous about seeing Carter. I’m not sure I want to read my son’s mind, invade his privacy like that. But I can’t help it right now.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara offered. “It’s not your fault.”

“No, it’s not,” Cat agreed. “And you know what I _am_ looking forward to?”

“What?” Kara asked.

Cat smiled wickedly. “The board meeting tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked really hard last night to write the whole chapter before my sister came to town today! Thank you all so much for your kudos and reviews!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by elena6375

Cat had been slightly worried to see Carter after her time with J’onn—the Martian’s warnings about invading other's thoughts still fresh in her mind. Any fear she’d had had disappeared the moment Cat had opened the front door and Carter had launched himself into her arms.

“Mom!” Carter buried his head in her neck. _Oh, thank god!_

Cat wrapped her arms around her son’s back and buried her face in his soft curls. “Carter,” she sighed in relief. “Careful, my ribs are still a little sore.”

Carter’s grip on her softened and he pulled back, tears in his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” _I was so scared_ , he thought, his mental voice small.

Cat’s heart ached that her son had been afraid. “I’m fine,” she said reassuringly, cupping his cheek with her hand. His face was losing the rounded look of childhood, slowly taking on the refined angles that were an echo of his father. “Really.”

Carter relaxed in her arms, giving her a familiar smile. “I’m glad.” His mind echoed the same sentiment.

 _You and me both_.

The unspoken statement brought Cat’s attention to her ex-husband who was lingering in the hallway.

“Stephen,” Cat nodded at him in greeting. She didn’t know why he had come up with Carter—he usually said goodbye to their son in the lobby.  

“You gave us quite a fright, Cat,” he said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I’m glad you seem no worse for the wear.” _Glad she’s still here, it would have broken Carter’s heart in anything happened to her,_ he thought. _Not that I blame him, four near-death scares in a year will do that to anyone, even me..._

Cat glanced down, knowing that he was thinking about Livewire, Siobhan, and the couple of times National City had nearly been annihilated. Things hadn’t been easy between them since the divorce, it had been an ugly one, but Cat couldn't find a false note in his thoughts now. In fact, he sounded more like the Stephen she had known during the early years of her marriage.

“Well,” Cat said, smirking. “You know me.”

 _Cats always land on their feet_ , Stephen thought, mocking her gently in his mind.

Cat scowled. “You know how I feel about cat puns!”

Stephen laughed heartily and held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t say it!”

Cat realized that he was right, he hadn’t vocalized that particular thought. Taking a deep breath, Cat pushed down her irritation. “But you were thinking it,” she accused him, smirking to try and convince him she was joking—no reason to tell her ex that she actually _could_ read his mind.

“Guilty,” he chuckled, ruffling Carter’s hair affectionately. “Bye, Carter.”

“Love you, dad,” Carter said, not pulling out of Cat’s embrace.

“Love you, too,” Stephen said, turning to the elevator. “Cat, call if you need anything,” he threw over his shoulder. _I know you won’t but it’s time to bury the hatchet_ , he thought. _For Carter_.

Cat smiled. Years of animosity wouldn’t disappear overnight but if he was willing to take that step, so was she. “Of course,” she called after him. “Good night, Stephen.”

He waved, finally out of Cat’s range of mind reading, and Cat closed the door, locking it for the night. Carter stood to the side, holding his overnight bag and eyeing her critically.

 _She’s moving slower than normal but she looks alright_ , Carter thought, relieved. _Thank god Kara found her_.

Cat’s head snapped up. Did Carter know? “Carter...” Cat started, pausing when she realized that she didn’t have a delicate way to ask her son if he had figured out Kara’s secret without explaining everything to him first.

“You should be in bed, mom.” He wrapped a hand around her elbow and tugged gently.

“Carter,” she said warningly.

“Bed, now,” he shot back, surprising Cat with his stern tone. “Or are you planning on staying home from work tomorrow?”

Cat pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. Her son knew her too well. “Fine, I’ll go to bed despite it being disgustingly early in the evening.”

Carter laughed. “Come on, we’ll watch some TV together.”

Cat could hear that Carter was looking for a little reassurance that she was still alive so she allowed him to lead her to her bedroom and prop her up with pillows. He crawled in beside her, something that he hadn’t done in a while. They watched TV into the night, laughing at the comedy program they had settled on, while Carter held her hand.

She got bits and pieces of Carter’s thoughts as the night wore on and it was a comfort to her that her son was just as kind in his thoughts as she’d always believed. Carter fell asleep around 11 and Cat didn’t have the heart to tell him to move to his room, knowing that he probably hadn’t slept soundly in a few days. Shutting the TV off, Cat drew the covers up around her shoulders and let herself settle into sleep.

* * *

Cat leaned back in her chair, staring apathetically at the fountain pen in her hand while the people around her shifted awkwardly.

_Why couldn’t this meet have been cancelled?_

_She looks as if nothing even happened, talk about unfair…_

_I doubt this would be a good time to bring up that CatCo’s acquisition of the station in Brazil is going poorly…_

_It’s too bad that explosion couldn’t have taken her out of commission for longer…_

“Let's get started, shall we?” Cat announced, smiling. She had promised not to delve too deeply into the minds of the people sitting in front of her, but Cat was glad to be getting a glimpse into what they thought, nonetheless.

Everyone gave her their best wishes and congratulations on returning to work unharmed which Cat took gracefully. She was pleased to find that most of them meant it, save for two.

Simon and Rina, the two who had colluded with Dirk Armstrong during the hack, seemed to be the most put out by her survival and Cat made a mental note to have Winn monitor their activity in case they go any future ideas to take her out as they had before. They had only been allowed to stay because Cat hadn't been able to legally connect them to the paper trail they had dug up on Dirk. In response, Cat had very publicly absorbed Dirk’s shares and had neglected to open a seat on the board up to anyone else, even going as far as to leave Dirk’s chair in the boardroom empty as a reminder to the rest of them.

Cat kept her face impassive as she drank in all the unprompted thoughts of her board of directors as one by one they worked through the matters on the agenda. She took great pleasure in picking solutions out of Rina’s head, passing them off as her own while the other woman stewed in her seat.

Adrian, a man in his forties who had made his profit building a tech company in his twenties, brought several items to the agenda to be discussed. His mind was sharp, focused, and he was genuinely interested in CatCo’s success. So when he suggested halfway through the meeting that he should fly to Brazil to smooth over the problems in the Rio office before the Olympics, Cat agreed.

“Well, I think that's about all we have for now,” Timothy, her oldest investor, said. “Inspired work today, Cat.” _She always was a business prodigy…_

“Well, what else would you expect?” Cat said, smirking over at Rina as Timothy left.

 _Wish I could wipe that smug look right off her face_ , Rina groused internally. “A pleasure, as always, Cat.” Rina stood, smiling, and headed for the door. _Smug, arrogant, bottle blond…_

Cat scoffed as Rina’s thoughts faded. As if what she did to maintain her hairstyle was of any consequence.

“Cat,” Simon nodded to her. _Just keep your mouth shut,_ he thought anxiously. _You don't want to be ruined like Armstrong was…_

Good, he was properly afraid of her. “See you next time,” she said pleasantly.

“I'll leave my travel arrangement details with your new assistant,” Adrian said, shaking her hand gently. His mind was already consumed with planning out his trip.

“Have a safe trip,” Cat told him.

The remaining two members had nothing of value to contribute as they vacated the room, one thinking of a rendezvous with his wife and the other looking forward to his lunch. Chuckling, Cat waited until she was alone before leaving, heading for her office.

The bullpen was just as noisy as they would have been if everyone had been speaking aloud, but Cat took no interest as she typed an email on her phone. The bullpen had lost interest to her early; the thoughts of her employees not very useful as they were all consumed with their own problems and Cat didn't feel the need to be privy to any more of their personal lives than she already was.

Her new assistant, Denise, gave her a few messages that she had missed while she was in the board meeting. “There are several calls requesting an interview with you after what happened Friday,” Denise said, giving Cat the list. _Can't imagine how terrible it must have been._

Cat pursed her lips. “Put them all in contact with our PR rep, they have my official statement. Anything else?”

 _Oh, yeah_ . “Kara Danvers is waiting in your office for you,” she added. _And I think she brought food._

“Thank you, Denise. I’ll take it from here.” Cat said, by passing her assistant and entering her office.

“Yes, Ms. Grant.” _Did she just get my name right?_

Cat ignored that and strode over to where Kara was seated on her couch, closing the door to her office behind her. Just as Denise had said, there was a couple of bags of take-out on her coffee table. It smelled like Chinese food and from the logo on the bag, Cat saw that it was from a moderately priced restaurant from down the street.

“Are you checking up on me?” Cat asked, eyes narrowed.

Kara smiled. “I brought you lunch,” she said instead of answering.

“Did your sister ask you to keep an eye on me?” Cat guessed, taking a seat and rifling through the take out bags. The restaurant wasn’t top tier like she was used to but it did seem that Kara had gotten all her favorites.  

“If Alex wanted to keep an eye on you she would have done it herself,” Kara said, pulling out a couple of paper plates and utensils. “I just wanted to see how you were adjusting. You know,” she shrugged, her cheeks flushing red. “Make sure you were alright.”

Cat smiled wryly as Kara started to split up the food onto two plates. “I’m doing fine, thank you. I didn’t need Supergirl to come check up on me just because I suddenly developed a super power.”

Kara’s hand stilled on the carton of honey walnut shrimp. “Can you please not mention that at the office,” she said, her expression stricken.

“Relax.” Cat rolled her eyes. “No one can hear me, I’ll know.”

“I’d know too, remember?” Kara reminded her, tapping her ear. Superhearing.

“Right,” Cat nodded. Kara handed her a loaded plate and Cat wondered how the cheap paper plate didn’t buckle under the weight of the massive amount of food Kara had piled on top. “Okay, are you expecting me to eat all of this in one sitting?”

Kara did a double take between Cat and the food, seeming confused for moment until realization dawned on her. “Oops, sorry!” Kara said, taking back the plate and emptying it to a more manageable weight. “Here.”

“Did you honestly think I would eat all that?” Cat asked, setting the plate on her lap and opening a pair of chopsticks.

“I forget how much other people eat sometimes,” Kara admitted. “I need to eat quite a bit more than your average human,” she added quietly.  

Cat smiled at the admission. “It’s hard for you to talk about these things, isn’t it?”

Kara paused between bites of a wonton. “I’ve been hiding who I really am since I landed on this planet, and most of the people who know my secret knew from the beginning. Or were told by my cousin. In fact, the only reason Lucy knows it was an emergency—Winn is the only person I’ve made the decision to tell.”

Cat’s grip tightened on her chopsticks. Of course Kara wasn't comfortable discussing these matters with her. Kara hadn't chosen to tell her the truth, Cat had practically forced it out of her.

“Well, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Kiera,” Cat said, unconsciously slipping into calling Kara the name she used to distance herself from the girl. “I can promise I won't mention it again.”

Kara's eyes widened. “No, Cat! No! I-I didn't mean it like that!”

“Kara, it’s okay,” Cat said, forcing herself to use her name. Kara had earned that from her. “It’s your secret and you only tell people you can trust—I get that. I apologize for taking that away from you.”

“Cat,” Kara said, placing her hand over hers where it sat against her lap. “I trust you, I do. In fact, I should have told you a while ago.” Kara smiled crookedly, her thumb moving softly against Cat’s hand. “I wanted you to know—I’m _glad_ you know. It’s just an adjustment.”

Cat felt her heartbeat speed up the longer Kara caressed her skin. They had been physically close to one another only a handful of times—most of those in response to a crisis—but this was the first time they'd touched without Kara wearing the cape. Kara's hand was warm, and her solid presence beside her filled Cat with a calm that she'd only before associated with Kara's hero persona. It wasn't helping the feelings Cat had tried desperately to keep buried.

Kara must have taken Cat's silence as disbelief because she gently squeezed her hand. “I mean it. I want you to know,” she said, staring intently into Cat’s eyes. “I want you to know _me_.”

Kara's words were innocuous but Cat sensed an undercurrent to the statement that nearly took her breath away. Because Kara couldn't possibly mean what Cat thought she meant. It was just Cat’s lonesome, inappropriate mind that was trying to give weight to Kara's words. Because there was no way that Kara could like her _back_.

“Kara,” Cat said, swallowing against the the sudden dryness in her mouth as Kara leaned closer to her.

“I probably wouldn't be sitting here without you, after all,” Kara said softly, her eyes dropping down to Cat's lips.

Did that mean Cat had been right? Could it mean that Kara had feelings for her too?

The idea filled Cat with a warmth and excitement that she could feel in her limbs. She could feel it in her head, buzzing like a fuzzy radio signal. Except that none of her previous relationships had felt like this and that the feeling was building.

Cat tore her eyes away from Kara's face, looking down to the plate in her lap.

“Cat?” Kara asked, looking at Cat with concern.

Experimentally, Cat flexed her fingers...and the Chinese food on the coffee table in front of them flew across the room as violently as if someone had thrown it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everybody. You have Charlie to thank for this chapter, he's the one that yelled at me to sit down and write instead of wandering around looking for Pokémon. :P Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! -- elena6375


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by captainjaybird

Kara looked at the food sliding down the glass wall of Cat’s office. A few employees had glanced up at the commotion but, afraid of whatever temper had caused the incident, quickly lowered their heads back down.

“Did you...did you throw the food?” Kara asked. She hadn’t seen Cat do it but how else would it have gotten there? Cat seemed as shocked as Kara was. “I know it’s not from somewhere as nice as usual but–”

“I didn’t mean to,” Cat interrupted. “I just...clenched my fist and it went flying.”

Kara’s brow scrunched in confusion. “But that’s impossible. Plates full of food don’t just randomly throw themselves.”

“This one did.” Cat frowned. “I could feel this kind of...energy, in my head. It built up and then when I moved my hand, there it went.”

“Even J’onn doesn’t have–what’s it called–telekinesis. There were scientists on Krypton who tried to create the ability but it never worked. All their test subjects either died or went crazy, and eventually the experiments were banned.”

“Well, I am neither dead nor crazy. It seems like my abilities have expanded. I fail to see how that’s a _bad_ thing.”

“I don’t know that it is,” Kara answered carefully. “But we don’t know anything about it. We should probably go back to the DEO.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I was just there and they could barely tell me anything. Surely it can wait until the end of the work day.” Cat shook her head. “I can’t just take unexplained time off so soon after being kidnapped. The board will smell blood in the water. You can never show weakness to them, Kara.”

“This is more important than board politics, Cat!” Kara said hotly, bringing her closed fist down hard on her leg. “We don’t know what this is doing to you, we don’t know the side effects, we don’t even know if you can control it. How would you explain it to the board if you sent financial reports or something flying at their heads?”

“While I appreciate your concern, _Kiera_ ,” Cat said coolly, emphasizing the wrong name, “I don’t think it’s really your place to tell me how to run my business.”

Kara gritted her teeth, starting to get angry herself. Why did Cat have to be so unreasonable sometimes? “No, I’m just someone who cares about you! But I guess that doesn’t matter to you!” Cat opened her mouth to respond, but Kara didn’t want to hear it. She gathered up her own plate and stomped out of Cat’s office.

Kara was steaming all the way to her office, and had to remind herself not to set her plate down too forcefully. She chowed down on her food, barely tasting it but chewing rather more aggressively than was warranted. She and Cat had been getting along so well! They’d even been having a moment, maybe. And then Cat had to ruin it by being so stubborn and snappish.

Although...Kara had to admit that she probably could have handled herself better. Storming out on Cat Grant wasn’t really something people did, or at least not people who wanted to keep their jobs (and their heads). Kara grimaced. She’d probably have to apologize to Cat, even though she didn’t really think she was in the wrong. Being Supergirl had made them more equals than they used to be, but Cat was still her boss. It wasn’t fair, but it was true.

Sighing, Kara threw her now-empty plate in the trash. Cat may not agree to go to the DEO until later, and while Kara could physically force her to, she never would. But Kara could tell Alex what was going on. Maybe with the advanced notice Alex could come up with some tests and theories. She selected her sister from her favorite contacts and pressed call.

Alex picked up right away. “Kara? Is there some sort of emergency?”

“Not an emergency, exactly. But something did happen with Cat’s powers.”

“They haven’t gone haywire, have they? J’onn said he was trying to teach her to close her mind but they weren’t quite there yet.”

“No, it’s not that. Cat seems to, to have gotten a new power.” Kara paused. “She accidentally threw a plate across the room with her mind.”

“Like telekinesis?” Alex asked, disbelieving. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Neither did I, Alex, but I didn’t see her pick it up and toss it, it was just suddenly splattered all over the wall. I’m not saying Cat never _would_ throw something, but she didn’t have a reason to this time. I believe her.”

“Huh. Do you know what triggered it? You know, did something happen that might have shocked her, or something?”

“Let me think,” Kara said, replaying the scene in her perfect Kryptonian memory. They’d been talking about Cat knowing she was Supergirl. Kara had held Cat’s hand, which caused her heart rate to spike for some reason. Maybe Cat was nervous around her now that she knew Kara had superstrength? Kara had leaned in close, which probably hadn’t helped the situation, and told Cat she wanted her to know her. And not too long after, the plate had gone flying.

“I was pretty close to her,” she told Alex. “Maybe she’s a little scared of me, because of my powers? I didn’t mean to freak her out.”

“I’m sure that’s not it,” Alex soothed her, but Kara wasn’t so sure. “Get her here, we’ll run some tests, figure this thing out.”

“About that...I _tried_. But Cat won’t leave CatCo until the end of the workday, and you know what kind of hours she puts in.”

Alex sighed, and Kara ran an anxious hand through her hair, equally frustrated. “Well just get her here as soon as you can. She listens to you more than she listens to anyone else.”

“We...kinda already had a fight about it,” Kara admitted. “I may have stormed out of her office. Possibly.”

“You stormed out on Cat Grant? Kara, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Alex…” Kara whined. “You’re not helping.”

“Just give it a couple hours. Let the both of you cool off. And then try to bring her in. Okay?”

“Okay.” Kara rolled her neck. “I’ll do my best. Later, Alex.”

“Later, sis.” Alex hung up.

Kara sat back down at her desk. She’d give it until five o’clock. It was a few hours away and was the end of a normal workday. Maybe that would be enough to convince Cat...Kara certainly hoped so. She settled in to do some editing and wait.

\---------------

A few hours later, and Cat knew she’d screwed up. It wasn’t fair of her to have snapped at Kara when the girl was only looking out for her welfare. And though she hated to admit it, Kara did have a point. It was likely irresponsible and potentially dangerous to have new powers and not get them checked out right away. But Cat had scarcely taken a day off when she’d had Carter, and she certainly didn’t want to start making a habit of absences now.

Still. Three times Cat had found herself headed towards Kara’s office to apologize, and three times she had turned back around and not done it. Cat Grant didn’t do apologies, as a general rule (except to Carter, her precious boy). She had _already_ given one to Kara today, and the idea of doing so again was not appealing. Cat knew that if she didn’t apologize, Kara likely would, and things would smooth out–except for the crack left in their relationship under the surface. And it wouldn’t be fair to Kara.

Cat sighed. Life had been so much easier before she had cared about the girl’s feelings. But thinking about Kara’s feelings brought Cat back to the idea she’d had just before their fight–that Kara maybe, possibly had romantic inclinations towards her. That is, if Cat hadn’t ruined them by being so cold to her.

Cat frowned. There really was only one way to move forward. And that would involve an apology, again.

Just as she was preparing to get up for the fourth time, she saw Kara walking up to her office, moving past everyone going home. Kara stopped by her open door, and Cat nodded at her to come in. Kara closed the door behind her, and Cat felt her interest in the situation rise. What didn’t she want everyone else to hear?

“I’m sorry, Ms. Grant,” Kara began. “I–”

“No,” Cat cut her off. “No, you’re not the one who should be apologizing. My behavior earlier was not acceptable. You were trying to look out for me and I shouldn’t have treated you so poorly. I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” Kara looked surprised. “Oh, uh, okay. Thank you. I, um, appreciate it.”

Cat felt a little badly that she had apparently treated Kara so shabbily in the past that the girl would be shocked by a completely warranted admission of fault on Cat’s part. Trying to move past her awkward feelings, Cat asked “I suppose you’re here to take me to the DEO?”

“Yes. It is, um, _technically_ the end of the work day, so the board can’t really get mad at you for leaving.”

“Oh, they can. But you’re right, we should get this new power checked out.”

“I already called Alex, so they’ve got a heads-up and I’m sure they’ve worked out some tests and theories. It should be quicker this time.”

“You did _what_ _?_ ” Cat asked dangerously. “You told your sister and the government what was going on with me, without my knowledge? Without my permission?”

“I’m sorry,” Kara said, but then lifted her chin and put on her Supergirl confidence. “But it’s what I thought was best. You wouldn’t let me take you in and they needed to know.”

Cat swallowed her anger. She didn’t want to fight again, not so soon after the last one. “Well, at least _tell_ me next time.”

“Okay.” Kara shuffled around awkwardly. “I, I should get you to the DEO. The quickest way to get there is flying.”

Cat smiled internally. What a perfect situation to test her hypothesis that Kara had feelings for her. She stepped closer and put the hint of a purr in her voice. “Fly me away, Supergirl.”

Kara’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Um, right, yes,” she squeaked. “I’ll just pick you up like, uh, last time. The last time we did this. Flying, I mean. I’m not sure what else we’d do, I mean, ha, uh, yeah, flying, that’s what we’re doing right now.”

Cat smirked at Kara’s rambling as the girl quick-changed into her suit. Cat closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck. She was certainly having _some_ effect. Whether it was Kara’s nerves over flying her boss or some sort of awkwardness over being attracted to her, Cat had yet to figure out.

Kara picked her the rest of the way up and carefully took off into the air. Like last time, Cat tucked her head away into Kara’s neck, not wanting to see the ground so far below. Kara inhaled sharply through her nose. Cat got an idea–a very interesting idea. If Kryptonian necks were as sensitive as human ones…

Adjusting her hold on Kara’s shoulders, Cat tucked her face more closely into Kara’s neck. She was sure Kara could feel every breath she was taking, every flutter of her eyelashes against her skin. Kara gasped and her hold on Cat involuntarily tightened–not enough to hurt, but enough for Cat to be dead certain _she_ had provoked that reaction. Cat smiled smugly, sure that Kara could feel that too.

Cat had thought she might be cold, flying at night, but Kara put out heat like a furnace. As they began to descend, Cat felt a little put out that their physical closeness would end. She would have to fix that. She was Cat Grant, and she had never been shy about going after what she wanted.

Kara put her down gently on the ground. “Here’s the DEO,” she said, voice high and face flushed. Cat was sure that if she could make out her eyes in the dark Kara’s pupils would be blown.

“Excellent. Let’s get this over with.”

Alex walked out of the DEO to greet them. “Cat. If you’ll come with me, please.” _It’s about time she got here_ , she thought.

Cat decided to let that go and followed Alex back into the room where they’d taken an MRI, Kara trailing behind her. Cat groaned. “Not this again.”

“This is the best way to get a complete picture of your brain,” Alex patiently explained. “I know it’s a pain but bear with me.” _Too bad it’s not a CAT scan, or I could make the obvious joke. Cat could use one at her expense._

“I heard that,” Cat grumbled, getting into the machine and lying down. “Kara can tell you I don’t tolerate feline puns.”

Kara nodded her head and Alex smirked. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” the agent replied. _Actually, I would._

Alex gave her a set of earplugs and then she and Kara retreated from the room. Cat closed her eyes and tried to sleep, despite the loud banging the machine made.

5:30 pm really was too early to sleep and Cat was awake for the entire forty minutes the process took. She felt quite grumpy by the time it was over.

“It’s all done,” Kara told her, walking up. “Now we just have to wait for Alex to analyze it. It shouldn’t be long.”

“Mmm,” Cat hummed, making her way out into the waiting room and sitting in a chair. She didn’t trust herself not to snap just now and she didn’t want to take her temper out on Kara _again_. Kara seemed to pick up on her mood and sat in the chair next to her, keeping quiet. The next fifteen minutes passed in comfortable silence while Cat wound herself down. She’d gotten herself back to her default state, only being mildly annoyed by other’s incompetence, by the time Alex returned.

“It’s your right parahippocamel gyrus again,” she said without preamble. “I compared this scan to the data from the last one and the activity has been elevated even higher. This telekinesis appears to be a natural extension of your psychic abilities. I want to keep an eye on this activity though. I don’t know what the effect on you will be if it keeps increasing. I think you should come in for regular fMRI imaging.” _Now if I can just get her to agree to it…_

“Absolutely not,” Cat replied. “Do you know how long these scans take? I don’t have time for that!”

 _Big surprise_ , Alex thought. Kara frowned.

“Cat…” she said warningly. “This is really important. It’s your brain. You can’t run CatCo without it. And what would happen to Carter if something happened to you?”

Cat stared at her. She hadn’t expected Kara to go after her feelings for her son. It felt like a low blow, but Cat supposed Kara was concerned enough to play dirty. She hadn’t known she’d had it in her. But Kara _was_ right.

“Fine,” Cat conceded. “I’ll consent to a weekly scan, outside work hours.”

“That’s all I’m asking,” Alex said. _Huh. That was slightly easier than expected. I should have known Kara was the way to get to her._

Cat glared at her. Alex cleared her throat. “J’onn is here to help you explore these new powers. Kara and I will be leaving.”

J’onn walked through the door as the Danvers sisters left, Kara waving a little goodbye to Cat. _I didn’t know you were telekinetic_ , Cat thought.

 _I’m not. But I’m the closest thing you’re going to get to it_. Cat hadn’t thought it was possible, but J’onn’s face looked even more serious than before. He put three tennis balls on the table in front of Cat and sat down next to her where Kara had been sitting. _Can you try to move these with your mind? Just one, to start_.

Cat focused on the ball in the middle, paying it intense attention, willing it to move. Nothing. _I don’t know how._ Cat was aware her tone was resentful.

 _What were you thinking about when it happened? What were you feeling?_ Cat flushed.

 _I don’t see how it’s any of your business,_ Cat thought snappishly.

_My people often had to use their emotional state to gain initial access to our powers. You could learn to use them without it, but that was the start._

Cat paused. She really, really didn’t want to have this conversation with J’onn, the closest thing Kara had to a father.

 _I was thinking about Kara_ , she admitted. _She...that is, I...I had the thought she might return my feelings_. Even just mentioning the concept started the power humming in Cat’s head.

J’onn’s frown deepened. _You said you wouldn’t do anything inappropriate_.

 _Kara is free to make her own decisions_ , Cat reprimanded him. _You can’t make them for her. And neither can I._

 _You’re right._ J’onn’s expression became slightly pained. _And that’s not why we’re here. Try to harness that emotional energy._

Cat looked towards the tennis ball, but didn’t really see it. Instead, she was thinking of Kara. Her blinding smile, her nervous but adorable laugh, the way her hands would fidget and Cat would try not to stare, imagining other places those hands could be. The sense memory of Kara flying her, safe in her arms, nose full of the floral scent of the girl’s perfume and the smell underneath that was just Kara, not quite human but close, with a hint of ozone.

The power built and built within her, growing stronger with each remembrance. Cat could feel it, crackling and electric, less a buzzing now than a steady hum, and she focused it to a point and directed it towards the tennis ball. Slowly, it rose wobbling into the air. Cat had done it. All she had to do to access the power was to think of the woman she was already in too deep with.

“You did it,” J’onn said, almost but not quite smiling. “Good. Now we need to work on your control.”

The next few hours were grueling, J’onn drilling Cat again and again until she could manage to hold all three balls in the air and move them independently. It was a different type of mental juggling than Cat usually did.

“It’s nine,” Cat said. “I need to call Carter and say goodnight. I know I’ll be home soon but I don’t want him to get off his schedule. It upsets him.”

“Of course,” J’onn responded, and promptly left. “I’ll go get Kara.”

Cat retrieved her phone and called Carter. He picked up quickly.

“Mom?”

“Hi, sweetheart. I just wanted to let you know I’ll be staying late at work tonight.” Cat hated the lie but couldn’t tell him the truth. “I just wanted to call to say goodnight. How was your day?”

“Good. My geometry test went well. And Tracy made a really good dinner.” He yawned.

“That’s great. You should probably be getting to bed.”

“Yeah, I’m tired,” Carter agreed. “Goodnight, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Cat smiled as she hung up the phone. She regretted not seeing Carter today, but she would make it up to him tomorrow.

Kara entered the room. “Ready to go home, Ms. Grant?”

“Cat,” Cat corrected her. “You can call me Cat outside the office. You already did sometimes anyway. Might as well give you official permission.”

“Cat.” Kara tested it out, smiling. “It’s nice. I, I like it.”

“Mmm. So you’ll fly me home?”

“F-fly you? But we’re not in a hurry. I’m sure you can take a DEO van, there’s really no reason to–”

“My time is valuable, Kara,” Cat interrupted. “And flying really is much faster.” Not to mention more intimate.

“Of, of course. Ha, okay. Sure. We’ll do that. No problem. Just follow me outside.” Kara turned around, flustered. She was clearly trying to hide that fact from Cat, but Cat could see it. It was just the reaction she was going for.

A plan was slowly forming in Cat’s mind. She would need to make a calculated seduction of Kara. Get the girl to act on the feelings she so clearly possessed, because Cat couldn’t make the first move. Kara was still an employee at CatCo, so she needed to be the one to initiate any kind of romantic entanglement. But that didn’t mean Cat couldn’t hurry the process along a little.

Yes, Cat thought. She was going to have fun bringing out an awakening in Kara Danvers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick update because there is absolutely no way I'm using fic writing to deal with my real life stress. Nope! And I'm trying to get as much writing as possible done before I start school in the fall. Good news for y'all :)
> 
> Thank you so much for all the kudos, reviews, and views! It means a lot to us!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by elena6375

Kara’s boots touched down on Cat’s balcony. She miscalculated, nearly cracking the cement beneath her feet as she landed. It had been a long time since Kara had lost focus during a landing—her first few days on Earth sprang to mind—but it seemed that nothing could break her concentration like flying with Cat Grant in her arms. Cat’s face had been buried in the crook of Kara’s neck while they were in the air to hide her face from the cool night air, her breath tickling Kara’s skin and causing her to fly somewhat erratically.

“Okay, here we are,” Kara said, lowering Cat down until her heels touched the ground.

Cat straightened her blouse and skirt. “Thank goodness I started leaving the balcony door unlocked. We wouldn’t want to make a scene by having Supergirl drop me off on the sidewalk.”

“That would be bad,” Kara chuckled. “Anyways, I should probably get going...” She prepared to take off again.

“Wait,” Cat said, holding a hand out to stop her. The patio furniture skidded back, screeching against the ground as Cat’s powers propelled them slightly away from the two women. “Gah, I better get a hold of this power sooner rather than later,” Cat grumbled.

“Cat?” Kara turned back to her.

Cat seemed to get a hold of herself again now that she had Kara’s attention. “I was going to ask you what the hurry was. See if you wanted to come in for a drink.”

“What?” Kara asked, her eyebrows lifting in surprise.

“I just figured we'd been through a lot in the past few days and, if there wasn't anyone in immediate danger, you could come on in for a drink.”

Cat gave her a rare smile and Kara’s mind, still jumbled from the feeling of having Cat in her arms, went blank. “Uh, sure.”

Cat’s smile grew. “Excellent!” She gestured to the open balcony door. “In you go, Supergirl.”

Kara stepped into the penthouse, pausing by the door when she realized that she had just stepped foot into Cat’s bedroom. It was one of the few rooms Kara hadn’t seen in her tenure as Cat’s assistant—she’d been told to fetch things from the lobby, living room, or Cat’s study but never her bedroom.

The room was different than Kara had imagined it, messier than she would have assumed with how put together Cat usually was in public. There was a one drawer in Cat’s nightstand that wasn’t properly closed with an article of clothing sticking out, a dress Kara recognized as something Cat wore to a dinner last week thrown over the back of a chair in the corner of the room, the bed unmade.

Images of Cat in bed came unbidden into Kara's brain, her legs tangled in the sheets, her hair splayed over the pillow case—

Suddenly, the light clicked on and Kara dragged her eyes away from the bed and over to where Cat was opening the door to the hall. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah,” Kara said, lowering her gaze and following Cat as they made their way to her study.

Cat waved her to the couch that was against the far wall as she busied herself at the bar. “Is scotch alright?” There was a light clinking of ice against glass.

Kara thought about declining, the alcohol would do nothing for her, but she didn’t want to be rude. “Sounds good.”

Cat handed her a glass tumbler and surprised Kara by sitting right beside her. Kara took a sip of the bourbon just for something to do. Kara could tell that the bourbon was expensive; the amber liquid lacked the usual bite that she was used to when she drank back in college. Cat kicked her heels off and tucked her legs underneath her body as she turned towards Kara. Kara straightened her posture as Cat cleared her throat.

“So, how do you do it?” Cat asked, resting her arm across the back of the couch.

“How do I do what?”

“All these…” Cat paused. “Powers. How did you learn to control them? Because I’ve seen what you can do: flying, superstrength, laser eyes—”

“It’s heat vision, actually,” Kara interjected, chuckling lightly. Clark would probably grimace if he heard Cat refer to that power as ‘laser eyes’.

Cat rolled her eyes and took a quick sip of her own drink. “I just mean—you don’t walk around all day crushing things, or blowing things up. So, how did you do it?”

Kara took a deep breath. “I learned. And it wasn’t easy,” she admitted. “It still isn’t. But when I first landed here I broke everything I touched. For months. It drove Alex crazy.” Kara smiled at the memory of Alex scowling at her while clutching a leg of her broken desk. “And I would get overwhelmed by my supersenses, the x-ray vision, the superhearing. It was painful.”

“It sounds terrible.” Cat lowered her glass to her lap.

“Eventually, Jeremiah made something to help me temper my powers.” Kara reached up to touch her face near the corner of her eyes and a look of understanding crossed Cat’s face.

“The glasses.”

Kara nodded. “Yeah, they’re lined with lead. They really helped.” Kara grew quiet, thinking about Jeremiah.

“But you still wear them, even when you're completely in control of your powers,” Cat pointed out.

Kara smiled softly at Cat’s statement. It always warmed her to hear that Cat believed in her so much. “It makes things easier, so I didn't have to think about it so much while I was tracking down your lattes and proofs.”

“Well, thank god you’ve been moved into a less demanding position!” Cat laughed, one of those carefree laughs that Kara had only been the cause of a handful of times.

Kara’s smile widened and she found herself laughing right along with Cat. Soon, their laughter died down and they drifted into a comfortable silence. Kara looked up at Cat as she took another drink of her bourbon and found Cat staring back at her.

“What?” Cat asked.

“Nothing,” Kara shook her head. “Just, this is nice.”

Cat smiled, reaching forward and brushing Kara’s hair back from where it fell into her face. Kara flushed at the contact and Cat’s heart rate increased. “I think so too. Maybe we can do this more often?”

Kara looked back at Cat in surprise. “Really?” Cat was asking her to...what? _Hang out_ with her?

“Of course,” Cat nodded. “And since it sounds like nothing is going to help me get control of my new powers other than time and practice, maybe we can fit in a little practice along the way, too.”

“Oh, you want me to schedule you some time at the DEO?” Kara offered. “Because I’m sure we can work something out—”

“Actually, I was thinking maybe we could practice somewhere other than the DEO for once,” Cat said. “Don’t get me wrong, J’onn has been great, but I understand that he doesn’t often use his powers and if I’m ever going to really control them instead of letting them control me, I figured that it would be better to learn from someone that uses their powers.”

“You want me to train you?” Kara asked, surprised. Cat was usually the one mentoring her, offering her advice, or giving her a pep talk; she had no idea why Cat would want _her_ to help her.

“Unless you have someone else in mind. I don’t suppose you have Wonder Woman’s phone number?” Cat smirked, one eyebrow lifting.

Kara’s mind flashed to Diana and Cat together and she frowned. “I think I can handle it!”

Cat smirked. “Good, I—” Cat paused, her head turning towards the door. “Carter.”

Kara focused her hearing and heard that Carter was making his way to the study door. From the slow beating of his heart and the shuffling of bare feet against plush carpet, Kara guessed that he had probably been sleeping. “Do you want me to—?” Kara tried to get up from the couch but stopped when she realized there was no easy escape route.

Cat seemed to be realizing the same thing. “Nevermind it now.”

“Mom?” Carter said, pushing the door to the study open.

“I’m right here, Carter,” Cat answered, getting up from the couch to greet her son.

Carter rubbed his eyes sleepily as he allowed his mother to hug him, blinking around the room until he spotted Kara and his eyes went comically wide. “Supergirl?!"

“Hello, Carter,” Kara said, using her ‘Supergirl’ voice. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Carter was standing next to his mom in his pajamas; a white t-shirt and a pair of cotton pants that had the House of El crest printed all over them. Kara felt the smallest of smiles play at her lips—she usually had mixed feelings about seeing her family’s crest monetized and plastered on all types of merchandise but it didn’t bother her seeing Carter in the faded pants. Carter, however, didn’t seem wholly happy to see her.

“What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice wavering. “Is everything—?”

“Everything is fine, dear,” Cat assured him quickly. “Supergirl just came by to talk.”

“And to have a drink?” Carter asked pointedly, looking at the glass on the coffee table and the other in Kara’s hand.

“Yeah, I’m just visiting your mom after what happened last week.” Kara placed her glass besides where Cat had abandoned hers. “I wanted to make sure she was alright for myself.”

Carter smiled like he approved of this. The sound of sirens in the distance reached Kara’s ears and Kara knew that her time at the penthouse was up.

“Actually,” Kara said, rising from the couch and shaking out her cape. “I should probably head out, let you two settle in for the evening.” Cat had that look on her face that said that she wasn’t done talking but Kara headed her off. “There’s a robbery downtown,” Kara shrugged.

“I suppose we will have to continue this discussion later,” Cat said, sounding put out. “Come on.” Cat led Kara back out to the balcony, Carter trailing along behind them.

“Bye, Supergirl!” Carter waved.

“Goodbye, Carter,” Kara said, opening the sliding door and giving both Grants a reassuring smile. “Cat,” she said in lieu of a goodbye.

“Until next time, Supergirl,” Cat nodded.

Taking that as her cue, Kara took off from the balcony, heading directly for the robbery she’d heard earlier. She’d just have to make arrangements with Cat tomorrow.

\---------------

Kara knocked on the door to Cat’s beach house, glad the long driveway up to the house shielded her from the road. Supergirl knocking at Cat Grant’s door was probably something that people on the street might stop and stare at.

Kara heard footsteps inside the house and soon Cat was opening up the door, dressed casually in a blue flowing blouse and a wrap skirt, her feet bare. Kara smiled, preparing to greet Cat, who was feeling more and more like her friend with each passing day, until she saw Cat frowning at her as she stood in the doorway.

“I thought I told you to come as you,” Cat said, sighing at Kara exasperatedly. “I’m sure I mentioned that we wouldn’t be spending the entire time training!”

Kara lifted the knapsack she had brought with her for Cat to see. “I didn’t want to fly here in my regular clothes.”

“Why didn’t you just drive?” Cat asked incredulously, moving to the side so that Kara could enter the house.  

“I don’t have a car.” Kara walked into the house, her cape swaying behind her.

“Oh,” Cat said, closing the door. “Well, do you always fly everywhere?”

“Not until I started using my powers again,” Kara admitted.

“And before?” Cat prompted.

“I mostly just walked or took the bus,” Kara explained, shrugging.

Cat pretended to shiver.

“It’s not that bad!” Kara insisted, chuckling.

“Debatable,” Cat quipped, leading Kara through the house.

The beach house had a wonderful open floor plan that that opened up to a kitchen and dining room. It was decorated impeccably, furnished for function and comfort rather than style. There was a hallway that presumably led to a bathroom and a couple of bedrooms, pictures of Carter hung on the walls. They walked into the living room where a large window showed a view of the ocean.

“Bathroom is down the hall and to the right. Go change and then we'll get started,” Cat continued, pointing.

“I'll be right back.” Kara said, wandering down the hall.

Once the door was closed, Kara used a burst of superspeed to change our of her suit and into the sundress she'd brought with her.

“So, where are we doing this?” Kara asked.

“Out on the beach,” Cat answered, pointing out to the sea. “That way I won't have to worry about making any repairs if things get out of hand.”

“If you're worried about breaking anything, we can still go to the DEO,” Kara said.

Cat had invited her to help practice her telekinesis while they ate lunch together the previous day, a frequently increasing occurrence, and Kara had agreed to meet Cat out here on Saturday morning. They had done a bit of training during the week—Cat had made great strides in floating tennis balls, she could now hit any target Kara gave her without thinking—but Cat had made it clear that she was ready to take on something a little bigger.

“I told you I wanted to get some practice done outside of that hole in the ground,” Cat scoffed.

“But your beach house?”

“You know I usually spend most of my weekends out here when the weather's good. Plus, this has the added benefit of the private beach,” Cat said, grabbing a pair of sunglasses from the counter. “Now, come on.”

Kara accompanied Cat into the back yard—a small grassy area that overlooked the beach—and followed as Cat headed down a flight of wooden steps. Cat held onto the railing as they descended and Kara had to restrain the urge to show off and float down the rest of the stairs to beat Cat down to the bottom. Roughly a hundred steps later, Kara stepped onto the sand and took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh ocean air.

Kara had to admit that Cat had been right—it was a beautiful day. The water lapped up against the shore at a lazy pace and the sky was so clear that in the distance Kara could see the spot when the earth began to curve. There was a wooden gazebo outfitted with beach chairs and Kara could just picture Cat reclined on the chair with a book. To the side, Kara could see a boogie board stuck upwards in the sand, a pair of flip flops lying forgotten beside it.

“This place is great,” Kara said truthfully. “I can see why you spend so much time up here.”

“It’s definitely been worth it.” Cat smiled and Kara could see her eyes crinkle behind the large sunglasses. “Carter loves it. His last three science projects have been ocean inspired. Although…”

Kara cocked her head to the side. “What?”

“That,” Cat said, pointing to a boulder that was large enough to reach up to Kara’s shoulders. “The number of times I’ve told Carter not to climb on it...anyways, I figured relocating it down the beach will be the best choice for today.”

Kara walked around the boulder, x-raying the ground to be sure the the rock wasn’t stuck to the ground. “Alright, it looks good. But are you sure you want to start with this? I thought we’d be moving on to something a bit smaller.”

“Like what? Volleyballs?” Cat guessed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I was thinking more like bowling balls,” Kara shrugged. “You know, starting slow...”

“And did you start slow when you started using your powers? Because I seem to recall someone lifting a plane,” Cat said pointedly. Kara didn’t waver and Cat sighed. “Come on, you’re supposed to push me here. Some superhero…”

Kara glowered at Cat’s needling. If Cat wanted to be thrown into the deep end, then _fine_. “Fine, let's get started.”

Cat grinned, pleased at her victory.

\----------------

Two hours later and the boulder hadn’t moved a foot. Cat was sweating, from the heat or the exhaustion she didn’t know, but beads of it rolled down from her temple and down the back of her neck. Cat redoubled her efforts, straining the muscles in her arms as she reached out to the boulder, watching as the damn rock trembled but stayed resolutely in place.  

“Damn it!” Cat cursed, balling her hands into fists and lowering her arms angrily.

“Do you want to take a break?”

Cat turned to where Kara was sitting—she'd  dragged a chair over around an hour ago. In anyone else Cat would have expected the suggestion to be sarcastic, maybe even would have expected them to be smirking at her, rubbing her face in the fact that she couldn’t even move a freaking rock after she made such a big stink about trying. But Kara wasn’t anyone else and Cat could hear nothing but sincerity in the suggestion.

“No, I don’t want a break,” Cat huffed. “I want to move this stupid rock!” Cat stomped her foot on the ground and her powers made the sand around her fly into the air.

“Hey,” Kara sighed, standing and walking over to her. “Maybe we should go about this another way.”

“And what do you suggest?” Cat demanded.

“Maybe it has to do with the way you're standing,” Kara said, circling behind her. Kara placed a hand on Cat’s shoulder and another one on her waist. “Now, just widen your stance…”

Kara's skin was warm from sitting in the sun and Cat resisted the urge to shiver as she felt Kara adjusting her body into the proper stance. They had traded a few small touches here and there over the last few days, and it seemed that Kara was becoming more comfortable with the interaction, but it didn't stop Cat’s heart from racing every time.

“Now, you weren't really making any movements before so maybe if you get low and move yourself through the action of lifting...your powers may take care of the rest,” Kara continued, moving her own body the way that she wanted Cat to move.

Cat leaned back against Kara and let the hero move her, their bodies connecting perfectly as they moved in concert. Cat’s skin warmed under Kara’s grip and she finally felt it; her powers crackled in the back of her mind with a renewed strength that she hadn't felt before. Hanging onto that feeling, Cat closed her eyes and tried again, reaching out with her mind. The next thing she knew, Kara was pulling away from her.

“You did it!”

Cat opened her eyes and saw the hunk of rock she’d been having so much trouble moving flying ten feet in the air. “I did it!” Cat repeated, looking around to see Kara bouncing up and down in delight.

“Great! Now, move it where you want it!” Kara instructed.

“Let’s keep it simple, shall we?” Cat mumbled.

She could already feel her strength waning. She willed the boulder out to the surf and carefully set it down once it was far enough out. Once she’d released it, Cat sank down onto the sand, utterly exhausted.

“Next time,” Cat said, wiping her brow free of perspiration. “Remind me that getting a crane in here will be easier.”

Kara chuckled. “Wait right here, I'm going to get you a cold water bottle.”

Cat felt a gust of wind and Kara was gone. She rolled her neck—it still amazed her that using psychic powers took such a toll on her body—and decided what she really needed was a quick dip. Standing, Cat kicked off her sandals, her skirt, and her blouse, leaving her in nothing but a blue bikini.

Leaving the rest of the things on the beach, Cat waded into the ocean. She sighed in relief as the water lapped at her feet, soothing her overheated skin. Needing more, Cat went further out until the water was up to her hips, then her waist, then her all the way until her head was the only thing not submerged. Cat leaned her head back, letting her hair get wet without having to worry about getting saltwater in her eyes.

Once she’d had enough, Cat got out of the water and returned to where she’d left her clothes. Cat leaned over, intending to pick up her discarded skirt to wrap around herself when she heard Kara land behind her.

“I hope you don’t mind I grabbed a bottle for myself,” Kara said. “Because I was a little thirsty, too—oh!” Something popped.

Cat straightened, skirt in hand, and saw that Kara was standing behind her, the two bottles of water crushed in her grip. Kara was staring at her as she stood glistening on the sand. “It looks like you’re going to need to get us some more water,” Cat said, putting a hand on her hip as she leveled Kara with a wicked grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much wrote and erased this chapter like 15 times before Charlie finally yelled at me to get it together ;) -- elena6375


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by captainjaybird

Kara looked totally shocked. The liquid from the water bottles she’d popped was dripping down her neck and chest in a way that was immensely appealing, leaving her golden skin gleaming.

“Well,” Cat said, “are we going to do something else or are you just going to stand there, Kiera?”

“Right!” Kara’s voice was pitched higher than Cat had ever heard it. “Water. We should get water. Because you’re thirsty. Probably. I mean _I’m_ thirsty so I’m sure you are, psychic powers are thirsty work. I, um—”

Cat decided to have mercy on her. “Yes. We can go back to the beach house and get some more. Let me just grab my clothes.”

Kara nodded, sighing in apparent relief. Cat already had her skirt, but she bent down again to pick up her blouse and sandals. She imagined if she had superhearing she might have heard Kara’s heart speed up. As is, Kara seemed to be trying very hard to keep her breathing steady. Smirking to herself, Cat wrapped her skirt around her lower body but left her upper half in just the bikini top. Let Kara deal with _that_.

“Are you coming?” Cat called over her shoulder as she started up the stairs. Kara jumped and hurried after her.

“Aren’t you um, going to put on your shirt?” Kara asked as they entered the beach house, crossing into the kitchen.

“I don’t see why I should.” Cat shrugged. “I imagine I’ll go back outside and soak up some sun after we get something to drink.”

“Oh. Well, I didn’t bring a bathing suit, so I guess I’ll just go—”

“Nonsense. You have superspeed. You could probably go get a swimsuit and return in the time it takes me to drink this.” Cat pointed to her water and looked at Kara appraisingly. “Unless there’s something you’re trying to avoid?”

“Me? No, no, nothing to avoid, of course not.” Kara was turning a quite interesting shade of pink and seemed to have forgotten about her own drink entirely. “I’ll, I’ll just go get a suit. And come back. To sunbathe. Maybe, um, maybe swim. You know, beach things. Normal, not weird beach things.”

Cat hummed and raised an eyebrow at Kara, who was standing there wringing her hands together. Kara seemed to snap to a little.

“Right. I’ll go now. Be right back.”

Before Cat could even blink Kara was gone, the whoosh of air from her abrupt departure blowing back Cat’s damp hair. Cat wondered if she’d pushed her too far. Still...Kara _was_ coming back. And she was clearly reacting to Cat—and her state of relative undress. No, Cat decided, she’d have to keep pushing, prodding Kara into admitting the attraction she so clearly possessed. Cat hadn’t built a media empire by being passive. She couldn’t make the first move, it would be an HR nightmare, but she could certainly give Kara a little nudge in the right direction.

Cat drained her glass, picked up a towel, and started the walk back down to the beach. Once there she shrugged her skirt back off and lay down to start work on her tan.

A few minutes later, she heard a thump as Kara landed.

“What took you so long?” Cat asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

“I stopped at the beach house first to change from my supersuit into this. And I’d forgotten where I’d left my swimsuit. It’s been a while since I went to the beach.” Kara laughed nervously.

Cat eyed her. She was wearing a green one-piece swimsuit. The cut wasn’t terribly unfashionable, but it was more conservative than what Cat had been hoping for. “You’re going to have awful tan lines.”

“Oh, the sun doesn’t really affect me that way. I can’t burn or tan, I pretty much stay the same color all year round. Besides…” Kara paused, fidgeting. “On Krypton, people were...a lot more modest. I guess I’m still not comfortable with showing that much skin.” She gestured towards Cat’s own bikini.

“I suppose that’s reasonable. Still, if I looked like you I wouldn’t be afraid to show it.”

Kara flushed at the compliment, pulling a tube of sunscreen out of the bag she had slung over her shoulder. “I brought this for you. I’m not affected by the sun, but _you_ can burn.”

Cat was about to decline, but then a rather intriguing idea struck her. “Alright. Give it here.”

Cat slowly slathered on the sunscreen, watching as Kara sat down next to her and tried not to look at her out of the corner of her eye. She noticed with amusement that Kara wasn’t entirely successful, however. She slowly rubbed the lotion into her chest, trailing her own fingers across her collarbones. Cat arched her neck and applied sunscreen there as well. Finally, she turned to Kara.

“You know,” Cat remarked, “I’ll need some help getting my back.”

Cat had thought Kara couldn’t possibly turn any redder. She was wrong. Kara’s face was now very nearly the same color as her cape.

“Oh, um, sure, of course, wouldn’t want you to burn.” Kara’s voice cracked. “I’ll uh, do that. Put the sunscreen on your back. No problem.”

Cat handed her the bottle and Kara’s hands trembled slightly. She was certainly having quite some effect on the girl. Surely it wouldn’t be long now before she broke down and acted on it.

Cat turned her back to Kara, who put her hands cautiously on Cat’s shoulders. They were as warm as Cat always thought they might be, and surprisingly soft for someone who spent part of her time getting into fights and lifting buildings. Slowly, Cat inhaled and exhaled, calling on half-remembered meditation techniques to keep her heart rate steady. She wasn’t sure she wanted to tip her hand that much.

Kara’s strong hands, surer than Cat might have thought they’d be, gently massaged the sunscreen into her back. Cat closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the moment. All too soon, it was over.

“There you go,” Kara said softly. There was still the hint of a blush on her face, but Kara had calmed down some, perhaps lost in thoughts of her own.

“Thanks, Supergirl.” Cat favored her with a small smile. “Always keeping me safe.”

“Of course, Cat.” Kara looked her straight in the eye. “You know I’d never let anything happen to you. I already failed once, when Mortis kidnapped you. I won’t fail again. I promise.”

Cat laid a hand on top of Kara’s. “You can’t promise that. What happened with Mortis wasn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself for that. And you rescued me in the end.”

“I read the file on the debriefing you gave the DEO. I know he took you because of me.”

“I’ve been a target for a long time. You don’t get to where I am without making some enemies. The difference is I now have a superhero to save me.”

Kara looked like she wanted to say something else, but remained silent.

“What is it?” Cat asked.

“I’ve been so distracted helping you with your new powers. We’ve been getting closer. But I wonder…” Kara looked down. “I wonder if it’s a good idea, you getting close to me.”

“Kara, look at me,” Cat ordered. When she didn’t, Cat tilted her chin up with her fingers, ignoring Kara’s surprised gasp at the contact. “That’s my decision to make, about what is an acceptable level of risk. And I wouldn’t trade knowing you, the real you, for the world.”

Kara seemed surprised, and touched, and Cat wondered if she’d given too much away.

“I wouldn’t give you up either,” she admitted. “But I am worried that makes me selfish. Shouldn’t I want what’s best for you? What’s safer?”

“It’s up to me to know what’s best for me. Without you, my life would be...less. I don’t have very many people who care for me, not really. Just Carter. And you.”

Kara smiled tremulously at her. “I won’t leave you. I don’t think I could. I’ve lost so much, I don’t want to walk away from someone I care about ever again.”

“That’s a mistake I’ve made. I’m glad you learned better more quickly than I did.”

“Me too.”

After that, they descended into comfortable silence and took in the sunset. The sun sank below the water, painting the sky in gorgeous reds and purples, Cat still holding Kara’s hand.

\---------------

Kara dodged a punch from the red-eyed Czarnian. Grey-skinned with black hair, he was dressed like some kind of intergalactic biker. He had come out of nowhere and jumped off a flying motorcycle to fight her. They’d been going at it for a good ten minutes, and Kara had no idea why. She’d been so busy trying to protect the people of National City from his rampage that she hadn’t had a chance to ask—until now, with him drawn into such close quarters.

“Who are you?” she shouted, frustrated. “And why are you here?”

“Th’ name’s Lobo, and I’m the biggest bastich there is. Someone wants a hit on you, girlie. An’ the main man always fulfills his contracts.”

A bounty hunter. Great. Kara had no idea who might have hired him. Maxwell Lord? Some of Non’s followers, out for revenge? She supposed it didn’t really matter. Over the course of their battle, Lobo had shown a reckless disregard for property and human lives, and she had to get him out of the city. If he was just after her, Kara was sure he’d follow her wherever she went. She took off towards the desert on the outskirts of National City. Sure enough, the roar of his motorcycle followed behind her.

Kara stopped within five miles of the DEO. She didn’t want to bring him directly to the base, but from this distance she could comfortably call for help if she needed it. She was going to try to finish this on her own first, though. Lobo was strong and vicious, and Kara didn’t want anyone else getting hurt.

She hovered in the air and braced herself, glad she was faster than him and had time to prepare. She could see him coming from over the horizon and waited...waited...there! Just as he was getting close, she shot forward and grabbed him off his bike, throwing him hard into the ground. Kara gave him no time to recover. She swooped in and nailed him with a swift uppercut to the jaw as he was getting up. He stumbled back and she drove a knee into his gut.

Lobo coughed and lunged forward, grabbing her cape. She tried to struggle free but he flung her a half mile away before she could escape. That gave him time to get to his feet, and as Kara came streaking back he settled into a defensive crouch.

“Ha! You’re puttin’ up a good fight, I’ll give ya that!” Surprising her, he jumped forward and grabbed her in a full-body tackle. They slammed into the desert sand.

Kara headbutted him, desperate to get out of his grip. Being in such close quarters rendered many of her abilities useless. Lobo didn’t budge an inch.

“Takes more ‘n that to shake me, girlie!”

She gritted her teeth. She wasn’t completely sure of Czarnian biology, but there was one attack that worked on most species. Kara drove her knee up into his crotch with as much power as she could muster.

Lobo howled and released her.

“That was a dirty trick, Super-bitch!”

She wanted to keep him talking, distract him so she could finish the fight.

“I thought the Czarnians were all gone!” she called from where she was hovering in the sky. “How are you even here?”

“I’m the last one.” He laughed. “Killed all th’ rest just fer kicks. Plague of flyin’ scorpions. You shoulda heard the screaming.”

Kara stopped, shaking. Rage coursed through her chest, burning until she felt like she might combust. Her people had died, her entire world extinguished, and she lived with the grief of a lost culture and a lost family every day. And this man, this _monster_ , had wiped out his own species? Murdered every last man, woman, and child? The time for talking was over. She was ending him, now.

Kara screamed, and the energy from all her anger poured out from her eyes, vision blazing so hot it scorched the air. It hit Lobo square in the chest and he staggered back. She landed and stepped closer, pouring everything she had into her powers until he dropped to his knees. She pushed inexorably forward, shutting off her heat vision only when her powers threatened to give out. Lobo swayed, dazed. She walked swiftly to him and brought her fist to his temple as hard as she could. He dropped like a stone.

“Alex,” Kara said, touching her ear to activate her comm. “He’s down. You’re going to want to bring in really heavy restraints. He’s almost as strong as me, and Kryptonite won’t work.”

“Copy that, Supergirl. Retrieval team should be there in five.” The transmission crackled. “It’s just you and me now, Kara. Are you okay? It looked like a really hard fight.”

“It took a lot out of me. I’m right on the edge of a burnout, I think. But I should be fine if I take it easy tonight.”

“But how are you feeling? I heard what he said, about killing off the rest of his species. He’s a sick son of a bitch, but that had to have been hard for you to hear.”

“It was.” Kara sighed. “I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it yet. Later, okay?” She blinked back the tears threatening to fall, old wounds opened again.

“I’ll bring ice cream,” Alex promised. “Take care of yourself, sis.”

“I will.” Kara shut down the comm. She could see the DEO retrieval team driving up. Once she was sure they had the situation well in hand, she made to take off, but then her phone buzzed with an incoming text from the secret compartment in her boot where she stored her phone.

It was Cat.

_Are you okay? The fight looked brutal before you left the city, and we never saw you come back._

Kara smiled, touched that Cat cared that much. _Are you still at CatCo?_

Cat’s response came so quickly that Kara guessed she must have been staring at her phone waiting for Kara’s reply. _Yes_.

Kara’s body was aching and she knew she should go lie in the sunbed at the DEO, but it probably wouldn’t do any harm to see Cat first as long as she flew slowly. Kara gently probed her jaw where she was pretty sure a bruise was forming. She hoped it wouldn’t worry Cat too much.

Even flying at reduced speeds, it wasn’t long before Kara was at CatCo. Cat was already waiting for her on the balcony, scotch in hand. Kara stumbled a bit as she landed. She was tired, her powers depleted from the fight.

“Are you alright?” Cat asked. Her eyes opened wide. “You…you have a _bruise_ on your face.”

“I’ll be okay. I just need some rest and some sunlight. Recharge a little.”

“Sunlight? Is that where your powers come from?” Kara nodded, and Cat changed track. “You seem...down. He didn’t get away, did he?”

“No, I got him. It was just a hard fight. He…” Kara paused. Did she really want to tell Cat this? She hadn’t even talked about it with Alex. But somehow, it all came tumbling out, just like it always seemed to do around Cat. “He committed genocide. Killed his own people, every single one. It...it made me so mad. I get so _angry_ that my world’s gone, that I lost everyone I ever loved. And this guy, he did that for fun.”

Cat stepped closer and ran her hand up and down Kara’s arm. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what that’s like for you.”

Kara closed her eyes and tipped her head back, feeling safer with Cat’s hand lingering around her wrist. “It’s more than that. What’s harder to admit, what’s harder to feel—I get so sad. When I first got here, I felt like the grief would swallow me whole. It’s easier to be angry. It feels safer, like you’re more in control. I kind of default to angry sometimes. I know you haven’t seen that much, but it’s there. But now that anger’s all burned away and I’m just, I’m just sad. Lobo talked about his people screaming as they died and all I can think of is watching Krypton explode with the silence of space around me.” Kara opened her eyes as a tear slipped out, and she wiped it roughly away with her free hand.

“Oh, Kara,” Cat said, voice breaking. “Come here.” Kara gasped as Cat pulled her into a hug, holding her just as closely and securely as she had that night with Myriad. Kara hugged her back as tightly as she dared and buried her face in Cat’s shoulder, trying to hold back her sobs. Still, she found herself gasping for breath, until finally the tears subsided.

“Thank you,” she said, pulling away slightly, but still closer to Cat than she usually was. Cat looked a little rumpled but made no move to straighten out her clothes. Kara noted with embarrassment a small wet spot from where her tears had soaked Cat’s shirt. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Even heroes need someone to go to. I’m...I’m glad I can be that person for you.” Cat bit her lip then continued. “You’ve always been there for me, even when I had no right to your compassion.”

Kara blinked. “Everybody deserves comfort when they’re down. Even before we got closer, when you could be kind of mean to me, I still knew who you were. Who you are. You’re _my_ hero, Cat.”

Cat scoffed. “I’m nobody’s hero.”

Kara stood up straighter. Couldn’t she make Cat see the kind of woman she really was? “You are. Haven’t you ever wondered why I wanted to work at CatCo? Why I stayed even though I got a ton of job offers once I became your longest-lasting assistant? It’s because of _you_. You and your fierce dedication to the truth, to giving a voice to the powerless, to inspiring people to be better. CatCo wouldn’t be half of what it is without you. And neither would I. So much of who I am now has been shaped by you. You’ve always pushed me to be better, and you’ve been my safe place when everything else seems confusing and wrong. You’re the constant in my life. And when I say you’re my hero, I mean it.”

Cat looked up, tears in her eyes. “You could fly above us all, but instead you’re the most human person I’ve ever met. You’re kind, and brave, and everything a hero should be, without even trying.”

Kara wanted to reach out to her, but she was still so charged from the hug she was worried she might do something stupid. Like kissing the woman she’d started to think she maybe loves. She wasn’t ready to cross that line and risk losing Cat. So instead she said, “You could do it too, you know. With these new powers, you could help people. Be a hero, like me.”

Cat shook her head. “I’m not like you. I’m too selfish to be a hero, too old. You...you could have been born for this. But I wasn’t.”

“I think you’re wrong. No one is born to be anything. We make our own choices, and that’s what defines us. And right now, you’re letting yourself be defined by your doubt.”

Cat sighed. “It’s not that simple. You’re young, you’re idealistic, you don’t understand—”

Kara’s phone rang. It was the special ringtone reserved for emergency calls from the DEO.

“I’m sorry. I have to take this. I wouldn’t if it wasn’t important.”

“I understand,” Cat said gently. “It’s okay. Go.”

Kara was already in the air as she turned her on her comm. With her powers so depleted, the DEO wouldn’t be calling unless it was a true emergency.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Supergirl,” Vasquez responded. “It’s Mortis. He’s been ranting and raving all night. I wouldn’t have called but...he started talking about Cat Grant. And some of the things he was saying...he shouldn’t have known them. He mentioned Carter. And he mentioned you. Kara Danvers, not Supergirl. I don’t know if he’s made the connection.”

“I’m on my way.” Kara clenched her jaw, expression grim. She had thought that with his imprisonment, Mortis’s threat would be contained. Apparently she was wrong.

Kara pushed herself as much as she dared, hating that she couldn’t fly faster with her powers so close to a burnout. It took her ten minutes to get to the DEO.

“Where is he?” she asked Vasquez as soon as she was in the control room.

“Are you sure you should talk to him, ma’am? If he knows who Kara Danvers is…”

“I need to know what he knows about Cat. And if he’s still a threat. Please, take me to him.”

Vasquez nodded and led Kara to Mortis’s cell, standing respectfully outside the door when Kara entered and shutting it behind her.

Mortis sat up upon seeing her. “Well, well, well. Look what the mention of the Cat dragged in.”

“What do you know?” Kara demanded.

“Not as much as I’d like. I only get the occasional glimpses, and they give me quite the headache. Tell me, did you think telepathy was a one-way street? There were two of us involved in the accident, although Cat took in the brunt of the radiation.”

“Radiation?” A quiver of fear put a chink in Kara’s emotional armor. Radiation was rarely good news.

“Yes, the alpha radiation resulting in our psychic powers. Nothing comes without cost, Supergirl.”

Kara’s fear was sharpening now into a deep worry about Cat. “What kind of cost?”

“Oh, we don’t quite know, do we. Cat is a bit of a test case. It will be so interesting to see how her powers develop, don’t you think? Perhaps it’s better that my benefactor wasn’t the first recipient.”

“And who is your benefactor? Who was paying for all this?”

“That would be telling. And she has friends in high places. I don’t think even being in this cell would keep me safe from her. No, that information is remaining quite confidential.”

Kara gritted her teeth. She wasn’t getting anywhere with this. “What are you seeing, with these glimpses of Cat?”

“This and that. Rather a lot of a pretty young employee who looks astonishingly like you. Inquiring minds want to know—does she suspect meek little Kara Danvers is actually her superhero? I haven’t seen enough to figure that one out.”

“You’re wrong. You’re assuming I even have a secret identity. I work with a government agency that can provide for all my needs. Why would I want to pretend to be a powerless human?” Kara hoped Mortis believed her lies more than Cat ever had.

“Hmmm,” Mortis hummed. “I’m getting bored of this. Give Cat my best. And be on the lookout for any mysterious headaches.”

Kara turned and left, Mortis’s laughter following her down the hall, a chill seeping into her bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lobo is a real DC comics character and yes, he really does talk like that. He's a parody of gritty 90's comics, how could I resist?
> 
> I also cut my finger open quite badly which made it difficult to write and type, so enjoy this chapter I put my blood, sweat, and tears into. Thank you for all your reviews and kudos!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter by elena6375 
> 
> Thanks to krystalgoderitch for fixing my mistakes and for general awesomeness!

Kara paused in the hallway. As much as she’d wanted to project an air of authority and confidence in front of Mortis, what the scientist said had instantly put her on edge. The truth was there was no one who knew more about the machine that had given Cat her powers than Mortis, and he wasn’t being very forthcoming.

Kara heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Alex coming towards her.

“I came as soon as I heard,” Alex said. “What did he say?”

“He said the machine’s explosion exposed them to some kind of radiation.” Kara crossed her arms over her chest. “Alpha radiation, he called it.”

“Can’t be,” Alex said, her head tilting slightly and her brow furrowing.

“Why?”

“Because alpha radiation isn’t easily absorbed. And we did a full blood panel when Cat arrived and during her last physical. There wasn’t any evidence of radiation sickness in her results.”

“Can I see them?”

“When’s the last time you took a biology class?”

“You know, I was considered a science prodigy on Krypton,” Kara reminded her, a smug smile on her lips. “I’m sure I’m more than qualified to interpret a few readings.”

Alex grumbled. “Fine, come on.”

They set off for Alex’s lab, Kara hanging back as her sister logged into the computer. It took only seconds for Alex to navigate to the file containing Cat’s results, and Kara stepped up to read over her sister’s shoulder.

“Here they are,” Alex said, highlighting a selection of text. “On her first test, Cat’s WBC was a little low but that’s not surprising considering her injuries.”

“Is that within normal range?” Kara had never needed to know what a human’s normal white blood count was.

“It is,” Alex assured her. “And, look, if she’d had any form of radiation poisoning, Cat would have had symptoms within the first twenty-four hours.”

“Yeah, but look, her first test was 3.7. The second test was 3.5. It’s trending down!”

“That's only a difference of .2 cells per liter, that's not that significant.” Alex sighed. “There could be a million reasons for that; anemia, antihistamines, corticosteroids. It could have even been a fluke at the lab.”

“But—”

“Kara,” Alex interrupted her. “Two tests does not constitute a trend, you know that.”

Kara scowled. She knew her sister was right but she still couldn’t get Mortis’ laughter out of her head. The idea that Cat could, even remotely, be in danger set off a feeling a dread that had taken root in her stomach and wasn’t so easily quashed by Alex’s rationale.

“I know,” she said finally. “So, we’ll just have to get some more results until we know for sure.”

To her sister’s objection, Kara left the DEO, flying back to National City under the cover of darkness. It was too late now to hope that Cat would have waited for her at CatCo so Kara flew to Cat’s penthouse. Except when Kara arrived at the upscale apartment building, hovering near the roof, her x-ray vision revealed that Cat was already in bed, fast asleep. A quick scan of the rest of the apartment showed that Carter was asleep in the room down the hall.

Planning to wake Cat up at this late hour was dangerous enough, but to ask her to leave in the middle of the night while her son was home? Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. Kara flew home. She’d just have to be ready to escort Cat back to the DEO in the morning.

Arriving at her apartment, Kara shed her supersuit and boots, changing into a pair of worn sweatpants and tugging a camisole over her head. Turning out the lights, Kara got into bed and willed herself to sleep, an ability she had mastered after arriving on Earth.

\---------------

Kara slept the appropriate number of hours, waking up before her usual alarm. She dressed quickly and left her apartment, on her way to do something that she hadn’t done in over two months—buy Cat’s morning latte.

Cat had revealed a few weeks ago that she hadn't been satisfied with a latte since Kara had been promoted. That’s when Kara had grudgingly revealed that she’d kept Cat’s lattes piping hot with the use of her heat vision.

Kara shot a quick text to Cat’s new assistant, Denise, to let her know that this particular task was being taken care of. She got a relieved word of thanks by the time that the usual barista was handing over the paper cup. Kara left Noonan’s and walked the few blocks between CatCo and the coffee shop. One elevator ride later and she was dropping her bag in her office before heading to the bullpen.

Kara was relieved to see that Cat hadn’t arrived yet, her office still dark, and decided to kill time at Winn’s desk. He was hunched over his keyboard, furiously typing away.

“Hey, Kara.” He grinned widely, pushing back his chair.

“Morning, Winn.” Kara smiled back and perched herself on the edge of his desk.

Winn eyed the cup in her hand. “What's with the latte?” He chuckled. “I thought those days were over.”

“Uh,” Kara said, adjusting her glasses. “Yeah, well, I need a favor.” She left it at that. Cat had asked Kara to keep the knowledge of her powers between the two of them—Cat said she didn’t need the super squad knowing something she was trying so hard to keep private.

Winn grimaced. “Yikes.”

Kara frowned. Her friends knew, of course, that Cat had confronted Kara about her identity after she’d been kidnapped. Kara had been relieved—at least they would no longer need to come up with increasingly ridiculous excuses for her absences now that the boss knew her secret—but the boys hadn’t exactly echoed her outlook on the matter. James had been the first to offer up his condolences, jokingly telling Kara to get used to giving Cat in-depth interviews, and Winn had wondered aloud if Alex was going to make Cat “disappear.”

Kara was about to remind Winn that she counted Cat as a friend and that his remark was bordering on mean when the sound of Cat’s private elevator coming to life grabbed her attention. “She’s here!”

Winn turned his attention back to his work as the elevator dinged, and Kara pushed off the desk with a distracted ‘talk to you later.’ The doors opened and Cat strode out into the bullpen, causing a flurry of productivity in her wake. It didn’t take long for Cat to spot her, but the older woman didn’t change her course, greeting Denise and heading directly for her office.

“Ms. Grant, I have your latte,” Kara said, falling into step besides Cat.

Cat’s lips twitched upwards. “Well, isn’t this a bit of déjà vu. What’s the occasion?”

“I was hoping I could talk to you for a moment.”

Cat opened the door to her office and waved Kara in, closing the door behind her. Safely alone, Kara lifted the lid on the coffee and lowered her glasses to give the liquid a few seconds of heat vision.

Cat grabbed the coffee cup and sat down behind her desk. She lifted the cup to her lips, taking a small sip, and hummed appreciatively. “You wanted to talk?”

Kara took a deep breath. “So, something happened last night...” Kara trailed off, trying to think of a delicate way to start this conversation.

Cat mistook her silence and her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Oh god, don’t tell me it’s the end of the world again and you’re here to deliver another verbal suicide note.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “What? No!”

“Then start with that next time!” Cat admonished, sighing in relief. “Well if it's not the end of the world, what is it? Your face looks like it did when someone ate your leftover chocolate pecan pie from the break room.”

“It’s not something major—I mean, it is! But, it’s not like it would hurt other people. Just you—” Cat glared at her, and Kara quickly recapped her encounter with Mortis at the DEO.

“And so, I’ll just need you to come back with me for a few more tests so that we can be sure you don’t have radiation poisoning.”

Cat stared impassively at Kara. “Absolutely not,” she said after a moment, grabbing a pair of reading glasses from the corner of her desk and training her attention onto her computer.

Kara’s face fell. “What?”

“The answer is ‘no’,” Cat repeated, speaking slowly as if Kara was a toddler. “I feel perfectly fine, I have for days, and I refuse to sacrifice any more of my time in that sand pit if there isn’t a pressing reason.”

“But there is a reason!” Kara shouted. The statement came out louder than she’d intended, earning her a pointed look, so Kara took a breath to calm herself. “I told you we don’t have enough data to know for sure that you’re alright and Mortis said—”

“You’re going to take the word of a mad scientist over mine?” Cat’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows rose towards her hairline.

“No! I just want to make sure that you’re not in a latent period—”

“Have you even considered that Mortis is just trying to scare you? That he was making things up to divert your attention?”

Kara hesitated, Cat having just echoed what Alex had told her when she’d left the DEO. Cat sensed the hesitation and interpreted it as a victory, smirking up at her. Huffing, Kara stepped forward.

“He said he could see into your mind. He knew about me.” Out of everything Mortis had said, this was one of the things that had bugged Kara the most.

Cat remained unmoved. “Everyone knows about you, dear, you fly around the city in a cape.”

“No, not Supergirl-me; he mentioned Kara Danvers,” Kara clarified. That got Cat’s attention. “Mortis knew I worked for you. How else could he know that if he wasn’t telling the truth?”

Cat shook her head. “Maybe he heard it from someone there. Everyone in that place seems to know your secret, maybe he overheard someone?”

Kara stepped forward so she was now within arm’s reach of the other woman. “Cat, please,” she begged. “Just come in for the tests.”

“Why won’t you drop this?” Cat asked, annoyed.

“Because, I—” Kara wished Cat would stop being so difficult and just listen to her. She knew that Cat hated to appear weak—it was why she pushed so hard to be sure that she was visible after every attempt on her life—but Kara _knew_ there was more truth to what Mortis had said than either Alex or Cat wanted to believe. “I just wouldn’t be able to stand it if something happened to you,” Kara blurted out, clenching her fists at her sides.

Kara fidgeted under Cat’s calculating gaze. After a long moment, Cat sighed. “Fine, but only because I don’t want National City’s hero to have some kind of alien stroke,” she quipped. “We’ll leave once the work day is over.”

Kara breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Cat.”

“Now, get back to work. I’m not paying you to hang out in here all day, _Kiera_.” Cat tacked on the name teasingly.

Reassured that Cat was coming back to the DEO, Kara nodded with relief. “Have a good afternoon, Ms. Grant,” she said softly, turning and slowly making her way towards the office door.

\---------------

Cat pursed her lips as she listened to her assistant give her an update at the end of the day.

“...marketing has reported a seven percent bump in subscriptions this month,” Denise informed her, typing away at her tablet. “And CatCo magazine is ready to go with the list of National City’s Top Ten Philanthropists.”

“Let me take a look.” Cat held her hand out for the tablet.

“Here you are,” Denise said, handing over the device and standing back. Cat caught her thinking absently about the tasks that she had to complete the next day.

After she'd promoted Kara, Cat had assumed she'd have to resign herself to either a revolving door of temporary assistants or another power hungry, opportunistic shrew like Siobhan. Fortunately, Kara had found Cat a replacement that was at least as good as she'd been before she started using her superpowers and who had a tolerable, if less annoyingly perky, personality than Kara before Cat had taken the time to get to know the Kryptonian.

Thinking about how she’d treated Kara during their first two years together still left Cat with a twinge of guilt. To think that someone as good and as kind as Kara could have stomached her back then, and even now think that Cat was good enough to take on the mantle of a hero. The idea had plagued Cat’s mind since Kara had suggested it, but every time Cat still arrived at the same conclusion: National City didn’t need her like it needed Supergirl.

Realizing that Denise’s mind had wandered into what she was making for dinner, Cat focused on the list. It seemed fairly standard, the city's wealthiest CEO’s, actors, and athletes who only donated their money for tax breaks duking it out for top billing to be featured in CatCo Magazine.

However, Cat found herself scowling when she noticed Maxwell Lord tacked on the end—his charitable contributions had waned lately, since he was more concerned with creating anti-kryptonian weapons instead of helping the masses—and noticed that there was a blatant omission that she couldn't ignore.

“Veronica Cale isn't on the list? I thought building that new hospital would have put her over Maxwell Lord,” Cat scoffed.

Veronica Cale was a pharmaceutical tycoon from Texas who had been steadily expanding her reach across the country. Last year, the company had made headlines for creating a breakthrough drug that helped people diagnosed with autoimmune diseases.

Denise shifted anxiously. “She was, but Ms. Cale denied the spot—said she didn't have time for an interview and photoshoot.” _Except that she called the article unnecessary posturing and hung up._

Denise's thoughts made Cat fight to keep a smirk off her lips. “Well, I've got an invitation to a gala at Cale-Anderson celebrating the expansion into National City—perhaps she'd be more inclined to participate if I extend her a personal invitation.”

Denise was about to reply when Kara arrived. “Ms. Grant?”

Cat glanced at the clock to see it was a quarter to six. “Ah, yes. Thank you, Denise, that will be all for the day. You can send in my RSVP in the morning.” Cat handed her assistant back her tablet.

“Of course. Have a good evening, Ms. Grant.” She turned toward the door. “Kara.” _What a surprise to see_ ** _you_** _here,_ _Danvers_ , Denise thought sarcastically but not unkindly.

“Goodnight.” Kara nodded, waiting to speak until Denise had grabbed her purse and the doors had closed on the elevator. “Ready to go?”

Cat leaned down and slid her feet back into her heels. “I assume we're flying?”

“GPS tends to get a little scrambled when you're trying to find the address of an underground government facility,” Kara teased.

Cat rolled her eyes. “Fine! But you're dropping me back here later, I still have work to do,” she said, stalking out to the balcony.

“Deal.” Kara smiled. She quick changed into her suit, a feat that never ceased to amaze Cat, and stepped in close with her arms open wide. “Ready?”

Cat entered into Kara’s embrace and concentrated on keeping her heart rate steady. She wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck and held on as she felt the two of them leave the ground, tucking her head into Kara’s neck to protect her face from the wind. A few minutes later, the flight was over and Cat was back on solid land, trying to tame her windswept hair.

“If it wasn’t so brutal on my hair, flying would be the perfect way to travel,” Cat said.

Kara chuckled as she typed in the entry code to open the menacing metal doors of the base. She ushered Cat inside and pressed a button to lock the door behind them. Not wanting to waste any time, Cat walked purposefully towards the medical lab while Kara rushed to catch up.

Several agents passed them by, some offering a nod or salute while others seemed wrapped up in their own heads.

_The latest briefing from the President should be arriving any minute now…_

_We need better coffee in this place. I wonder if the directors will approve a requisition for a French roast…_

_Parameters for the containment units are all within normal range…_

_At this rate, we may as well make her an access badge_ , a familiar mental voice snapped.

Cat turned her head to see Alex Danvers coming towards them. “Agent Danvers, nice to know that you’re as pleased to see me as ever. Let’s get this over with.”

Alex rolled her eyes but she smirked all the same. “Ms. Grant, let’s get going to the lab—we wouldn’t want to waste any more of your time.” She shot her sister a look, grumbling in her mind about the waste of resources Kara was costing her department.

Cat was slightly relieved to hear that Kara’s concerns didn’t seem to be founded in anything scientific; it erased the small bit of doubt that lingered in her mind. “So, what will we be looking for, exactly?”

Alex sighed. “Inflammation, degeneration of the cells, decreasing WBC panel functions. We’ll basically be doing a wide sweep to catch anything abnormal.”

_Well, look what the cat dragged in._

Cat groaned at the horrible pun, turning to see Lucy Lane, grinning and heading right for them. It was different to see the woman dressed in the para-military garb that Cat had come to associate with the place, although she knew from Kara that Lucy had been put in charge alongside J’onn. “Did we not discuss the policies regarding cat jokes and puns when I hired you?”

Lucy looked mildly surprised. “Wow,” she said, stopping in front of them and crossing her arms over her chest. “Well, first of all, I no longer work for you, and, second, Agent Danvers has kept me apprised of the situation.” _During those late night calls while I was away._

Cat crooked one eyebrow at the last thought. Could it be that there was something brewing between Lucy and the other Danvers sister?

Lucy seemed to realize what she’d just thought and cleared her throat. “I guess I’ve figured out how true this telepathy is for myself.” _First aliens, now mind reading._

“Yes, I’m a regular sideshow.” Cat rolled her eyes. “Now, if you don’t mind, I was dragged here for some testing.”

“I was actually here for Supergirl,” Lucy said, gesturing to the hero. “There’s a couple of hikers who were hurt trying to climb Mt. Baldy. Rescue helicopters can’t reach them and one of the climbers seems to be critical.”

Kara looked between Lucy and Cat. “Uh, I thought I should stay—”

“Go, save the day,” Cat ordered. “I’ll be fine here. It’s not like this is anything new.”

“But—”

“ _Go_! Because if you don’t, no one else will,” Cat said pointedly, still thinking about Kara’s ludicrous suggestion that she don a cape and join in the heroics.

Kara scowled and stomped away before employing her superspeed and disappearing from view. Cat chuckled at Kara’s attitude, shaking her head.

“So, Cat, you’ve been feeling alright?” Lucy asked, accompanying them into Alex’s lab.

“I’ve been feeling perfectly fine; this is just Kara being...” She searched for a word other than 'overprotective' but came up short, opting to simply wave her hand to indicate the ridiculousness of the claim. “Anyways, I’m surprised to see you here, Lane. I’ve heard rumors that your prolonged absence was beginning to warrant a search party. Where was it you were again?”

Lucy chuckled at Cat’s attempt at fishing for information. “I was in Washington. With J’onn here to oversee the day-to-day operations, it falls to me to be the DEO’s liaison in Capitol Hill.” _Because most of those close-minded politicians won’t deal with J’onn now that they know he’s a Green Martian._

“Must be difficult, trying to justify an organization that works hand in hand with two aliens to a bunch of xenophobic parasites,” Cat said, feeling a twinge of anger. Sharing a telepathic connection had softened her to the Martian.

Alex seemed impressed, but Lucy’s mind was going in another direction.  
  
“What did you mean before when you were talking to Supergirl? Something about how no one else will save those hikers?” Lucy asked.

“Just some silly idea she’d gotten that I should fit myself into some spandex costume and try helping the masses with my ill-controlled powers.” Cat huffed. “As if I would want to put myself out there for this ungrateful city.”

“What?” Alex scoffed. _As if anyone would_ **_want_ ** _Cat Grant to show up during their most vulnerable moments…_

“I don’t know, Cat,” Lucy said, a smirk on her face. “You do plenty for people with the power you have at CatCo; what’s the difference between that and what Kara’s suggesting?”

“No one wants me to be their hero,” Cat said plainly.

“I can think of at least one person who would disagree with you,” Lucy replied. _Kara, for instance._ Cat frowned. “Anyways, I’ll leave you two to the tests. Agent Danvers, find me later?”

Alex nodded. “Roger that.”

“Bye, Cat,” Lucy said.

“Baby Lane,” Cat quipped, earning a chuckle from Lucy as she left.

They entered the lab and Alex shrugged on a lab coat that had been hanging on a hook beside the door. “Okay, where would you like to start? By being shoved into a small tube and holding still for forty-five minutes, or by having me jam a needle into your vein?” Alex asked cheerfully.

Cat scowled, unbuttoning her sleeve and rolling it up past her elbow. “You are getting far too much enjoyment out of this.”

Alex laughed. “I’ll use the baby needle.”

“Fine.” Cat rolled her eyes, sighing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! See you next time! -- Alisa


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by captainjaybird
> 
> Much thanks to our editor krystalgoderitch!

It took Kara longer than she’d expected to rescue the climbers on Mt. Baldy. Removing a fallen boulder without causing further harm to the man's leg had been a delicate operation, and Kara had to fly slowly to the hospital so his condition wouldn't worsen. By the time she was heading back to the DEO, nearly an hour and a half had passed.

Alex was just about to walk into Cat’s room when Kara got back.

“Oh, good,” Alex said. “Now I can just explain the results once. How’d the rescue go?”

“They’re both gonna be okay. Is Cat…?”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “I’m literally going to tell you in a minute. You seem...really concerned, for someone who’s barely a friend.”

Kara fought down the blush threatening to form on her face. She didn’t want to have this conversation with Alex right here, in the middle of the DEO. To be honest, she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell her sister about her feelings at all. Alex’s opinion of Cat wasn’t high, to say the least.

“You know how much I admire her. And, and I wouldn’t have lasted for two years as her assistant if I didn’t care about her. She really is a good person, Alex.”

Alex shrugged. “If you say so. We probably shouldn’t keep her waiting. Come on.”

She opened the door and Kara followed her in. Cat looked rather annoyed, reminding Kara vividly of the first week she’d worked for her and she’d gotten her coffee order slightly wrong.

“That took long enough,” Cat snapped. “You don’t even have any magazines in here.” She paused, seeming to register Kara’s presence. “Kara. You’re back. You took longer than I thought you would.”

“Sorry.” Kara crossed over to stand beside her. “I got here as soon as I could.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “I didn’t need you here for emotional support for what I’m sure will be very normal lab results.” Anyone else might have been hurt by that, but Kara knew Cat had a tendency to put up a tough front when she was scared.

Kara put her hand on Cat’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “I know. But I’m here anyway.”

She couldn’t decipher the look Cat gave her then. She looked...relieved? Grateful? Kara felt there might be something deeper there, but she wasn’t even close to knowing what it was.

Alex cleared her throat. “So. Your lab results. We didn’t find any abnormalities in the CT scan, and your WBC is back up to 4.1. That’s within normal range, and actually better than last time. Your powers don’t seem to be doing you any harm at all.”

“See!” Cat gloated, turning to Kara. “I told you it was nothing. This was just a waste of time.”

“It’s still better to check.” Kara set her jaw stubbornly. “If it was me, wouldn’t you want to be sure?”

Cat seemed thrown by that. “I...yes, of course I would want you to be fine. But you’re invulnerable. This would never happen to you.”

Kara opened her mouth to reply, but Alex stepped in.

“O-kay. Cat, Kara has a point; your powers are an unknown and it’s good to check in. Kara, Cat is a grown woman and can make her own decisions, no matter how stupid they might be. Any other potential fights I need to diffuse?”

Kara hung her head. She hadn’t wanted to get into it with Cat in front of Alex. Grimacing, she wondered how much she had given away, to either of them.

“Good,” Alex said. “I try to keep drama in my lab to a minimum. Not that that’s easy, with a stubborn superhero for a sister.” She nudged Kara with her shoulder.

“I’m not stubborn!”

“Yes, you are,” Cat and Alex replied simultaneously, and then looked at each other in surprise. Clearly they hadn’t ever expected to agree on anything.

“Name one time I was stubborn.” Kara pointed to Alex then Cat. “Both of you. One time!”

“When you started being Supergirl in the first place,” Alex said. “And I told you not to, you even got shot down by the DEO, but you did it anyway. Not that I’m not glad you did, now, but you’re stubborn, sis.”

“You shot her down?” Cat rounded on Alex. “You—”

“It’s fine,” Kara interrupted. “Really, it’s okay. Anyways, why do _you_ think I’m stubborn?”

“You wouldn’t have lasted so long as my assistant if you weren’t,” Cat answered matter-of-factly. “I must have fired you half a dozen times but you never left. And there was that time I took you out for drinks and you insisted you were still mad at me, when we’d just talked about the anger behind the anger.”

“I _was_ —” Kara snapped her mouth shut, aware she wasn’t helping her case. “Fine. I’m stubborn.”

Cat and Alex smirked at each other, and Kara wasn’t sure she liked the camaraderie building between them. It was nice that they were finally getting along, but Kara hadn’t considered the effect of Alex’s older sibling banter combined with Cat Grant’s trademark snark. If those two ever really did become friends, Kara would never win an argument again, she was sure of it.

“I need to be getting home.” Cat said. “Kara, I don’t suppose you could fly me? It _is_ quickest.”

“Oh, yes. No problem.” Kara turned to Alex. “I’ll see you later.”

“Pizza night, I haven’t forgotten. I’ll be there in an hour,” Alex promised.

Kara led Cat out of the DEO and soon they were in the air. Kara was almost, almost getting used to the feeling of Cat in her arms, face tucked away against her neck. It made her ache, wishing for more than just these stolen moments. But this was all there could ever be. Kara didn’t think Cat could ever return her feelings. What would such a rich, powerful, sophisticated woman ever want with her, awkward Kara Danvers?

“Here you go,” Kara said, landing on Cat’s balcony, trying not to let the sadness she felt color her voice. “It sounds like Carter’s still up and waiting for you.”

“Thank you.” Cat started to walk away, but then turned around. “There’s a gala at Cale-Anderson Pharmaceutical Saturday. You should come with me.” Kara didn’t know if she was imagining things, but Cat almost looked like she was surprised by the words coming out of her own mouth. Surely she couldn’t be. Cat Grant didn’t do self-doubt.

“Come with you? To the gala?” Kara tried to stop the hope growing in her chest. Going to an event, with Cat, not as her assistant…

“Yes,” Cat answered, her face back to impassive. “I’m hoping to get Veronica Cale to agree to an interview. She’s from Texas and your sunny, guileless personality might just be what we need to get through to her. They’re a friendlier people down there...well, unless you’re anything other than a straight white male.” She smiled sardonically.

“Oh.” _Stupid_ , Kara chided herself. Of course it was for work. Cat would never take someone like her to a public event otherwise. “Of course. I, um, I guess I’ll find a dress. I’m, I’m sure I have something. Somewhere.” Kara didn’t actually think she had anything Cat would consider acceptable.

Cat huffed out a breath. “I’ll have Denise schedule an appointment for you with my personal shopper this Friday. Consider the dress payment for all the overtime work. I can’t have you standing next to me in some kind of schoolgirl travesty.”

“Sure,” Kara agreed glumly, Cat’s words confirming to Kara that she didn’t hold her in very high regard. “I should probably get going.”

“Kara.” Cat’s hand twitched like she almost wanted to reach out to her, but didn’t. “I...I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” Kara nodded. “Bye, Cat.” She took off before Cat could say another word. Kara didn’t want to talk any more about _work_.

She took her time, flying around the city, and so when she got back to her apartment, Alex was already there, waiting with pizza.

“What kind is it?” Kara asked, already perking up.

“Meat lovers for you and Hawaiian for me. Well, for me until you finish your pizza, anyway.” Alex grinned.

Kara couldn’t really argue the point. Alex had started getting Hawaiian pizza because she thought Kara would be grossed out by the pineapple and keep away, but her plan had backfired. As it turned out, Kara _loved_ pineapple on pizza.

Grabbing three slices of the meat lovers, Kara sat down. “So what are we going to watch? Jessica Jones?”

“Actually…” Alex stopped smiling and frowned slightly. “I was thinking we could talk.”

“Talk?” Kara laughed nervously. “A-about what? Nothing weird’s going on. I mean, except Cat getting powers, but that’s old-weird, not new-weird. There’s, there’s nothing really interesting right now. Everything’s boring in Kara-land, ha ha.”

“Only you could try to say being a costumed superhero is boring.” Alex shook her head. “You’re an awful liar, you know that? And I was thinking we could talk about you and Cat Grant.”

Kara almost choked on her pizza. “Me and Cat?”

“Yes, you and Cat.” Alex had her investigative face on, and Kara shifted nervously. The last time Alex had looked at her like this she’d figured out Kara was the one who’d accidentally put an elbow in her birthday cake.

“Something’s going on between the two of you,” Alex continued. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s something.”

“There’s nothing going on. Cat’s my friend.”

“Your friend. Who you worry over incessantly. Who you accompany to doctor’s appointments like some worried spouse. Who you give up most of your free time to be around. Just your friend, Kara?”

“Cat would never feel that way about me.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “But you didn’t say you don’t feel that way about her.”

Kara looked away. “Alex…”

Alex reached out and grabbed Kara’s shoulder. “Hey,” she said softly. “I’m your sister. You know you can tell me anything. I’m not going to judge you. I just want to be there for you, but you have to let me.”

Kara turned back around and leaned into Alex, who shifted and put her arm around her. Kara sighed.

“I haven’t said it out loud before but the truth is I _do_ like Cat. In, you know, in a crush way. Except it’s maybe more than a crush. I…”

Alex squeezed her gently. “It’s okay. I was kind of thrown, when I first started to think you might like Cat that way, but it makes a sort of sense. She’s been a really big influence on you, you look up to her—”

“It’s more than that. It’s not just some mentor crush. You don’t get to see it, but Cat is kind, and determined, and smart, and funny, and there’s no way she could ever like someone like me.”

“That’s not true. She’d be lucky to have you. Anybody would. If anything, you’re too good for her.”

“You don’t know Cat like I do. She’s not perfect, but she’s not who you think she is. Who anyone thinks she is. But there’s just no chance.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Alex said reluctantly. “That I’m encouraging this. But I wouldn’t say there’s _no_ chance.”

Kara turned a little to look at her, eyes widening. “You wouldn’t?”

“She actually left work to come in for testing, because you asked. I didn’t think Cat Grant would do that for anyone. And she seems to actually care what you think, even when she pretends not to. I think she cares about you more than she cares about most people.”

“Yeah. But that doesn’t mean she wants to be with me.”

“No, but it probably means something. And I don’t think you should give up until you know what that is. I just want you to be happy, and if Cat is what makes you feel that way...well, she wouldn’t have been my first choice, or even my fifth, but I’ll support you if she really is the one who makes you feel at home.”

“I love you,” Kara said, resting her head on Alex’s shoulder. “You’re the best big sister ever, you know that?”

Alex laughed. “We’ll see if you’re still saying that the next time I kick your ass in the training room. Come on, it’s time for TV.”

As the night went on, Kara half-watched as Jessica hunted down Killgrave, turning over Alex’s words in her mind.

\---------------

Cat paced anxiously in her bedroom. She couldn’t believe she’d invited Kara to come with her to the gala. Her mouth had just blurted it out without her permission, and then she’d had to think fast and come up with some flimsy work-related excuse. Sweet, oblivious Kara had appeared to believe her, and Cat didn’t know whether to be relieved or frustrated.

Yes, she wanted to gently nudge Kara into admitting her feelings. But she couldn’t make the first move. Asking Kara to come to the gala with her had come perilously close. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her distance. Kara Danvers was more dangerous to her than Dirk Armstrong had ever been.

Cat examined herself in the mirror. She looked good. She was wearing a designer suit with a plunging neckline and killer heels. Maybe her appearance alone would get Kara to finally act on her feelings. Cat could always hope.

The doorbell rang. Kara. Cat had told her to meet her at the penthouse so they could ride to the gala together. Cat glanced at her watch. As always, Kara was right on time. Cat took a deep breath and headed to the door.

When she opened it, she allowed herself a moment to take Kara in. She was wearing a light blue dress that complimented her beautiful blue eyes, and it wrapped delicately around Kara’s toned frame. Every curve and hint of delicious muscle was on display. A blush was spreading across Kara’s cheeks.

“C-Cat. You look, you look, wow. I mean, your suit is very nice. It um, it suits you. You suit does, suit you. Ha, I didn’t mean that pun, it’s just—”

“Kara,” Cat took pity on her and cut off her babbling. “You look nice too. No one will be able to keep their eyes off you.”

Kara’s blush deepened. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Cat eyed her appreciatively, and Kara seemed almost to be holding her breath. “You’re a beautiful woman. You should own it, instead of hiding under those awful cardigans.”

“Y-yes, Ms. Gr—Cat.” Suddenly, Kara grinned. “But you know, I _like_ my cardigans.”

Cat shuddered. “Of course you do. Come on, let’s get to the car.”

The ride down the elevator and then in the car was comfortably quiet. Kara shifted in the small space, and Cat could feel the heat radiating off her body.

“We’re almost there,” Cat murmured, carefully breaking the silence but not wanting to startle Kara. “If you stay a step or two behind me the paparazzi shouldn’t get too many pictures of you.”

“Paparazzi?”

“Everybody who’s anybody will be at this event. Of course there’s going to be photographers there.”

“Alex is gonna kill me.” Kara tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “I’m not even allowed to have an Instagram. Security issues, you know? She doesn’t want too many pictures of me out there.”

“I’m sure it will be fine. I’ll keep them plenty busy.”

Kara laughed. “You’re good at that.”

Soon, they were at the gala. Cat stayed a few steps ahead of Kara, smiling for the cameras and keeping their attention on her. Much as Cat wished she could have Kara by her side, she admitted with a pang that was something she could never have, even if she and Kara were together. Alex was right; Kara needed to stay out of the spotlight. It was an aspect of their potential relationship Cat hadn’t considered, and she resolved to spend time later thinking of solutions. Nothing was insurmountable to Cat Grant, Queen of All Media, not even her own fame.

Finally they had run the publicity gauntlet and were inside the venue. Cat allowed herself to relax a little. She’d grown used to media attention, but it was still never quite comfortable.

She was careful to keep her mental barriers up though. She could feel the press of the hundreds of thoughts around her, one occasionally slipping though. Cat glared at a man thinking of sneaking away from his wife and meeting his coworker in the bathroom. Dismissing him, Cat turned to Kara.

“You should be okay now to stick closer to me. We should keep an eye out for Veronica Cale.”

“She’s over there.” Kara tilted her head to the left. “I can hear her talking to Lena Luthor.”

“Whatever are they saying?” Cat asked, intrigued.

Kara gave her a disapproving look. “I try not to use my powers to invade other people’s privacy. It just doesn’t seem right.”

Cat sighed. “Always so good and moral. I suppose there’s no helping that. Let’s go over there and say hello.”

Making your way through a crowd was easier when one of you couldn’t be moved, Cat noticed. She made a mental note to take Kara with her the next time she needed to cover a protest.

Lena Luthor was just leaving as Cat and Kara approached Veronica Cale. Cale was as well-dressed as ever, short blonde bob gleaming in the light. Around her neck, her ever-present black pearl necklace.

Cat caught Lena’s disgruntled thought of _I came to this city to get_ **_away_ ** _from the shadow of my brother_ as she left. Cat also noticed that Kara seemed a little less tense now that Lena was gone. Apparently she’d inherited her cousin’s distrust of Luthors.

“Cat,” Cale drawled. “And...your former assistant? Interesting choice to bring to a gala, but you know I’m never against women pulling themselves up from humble beginnings.” _Would have been nice if someone had given_ **_me_ ** _that kind of leg-up_ , she thought resentfully.

“Veronica,” Cat said, taking her hand briefly. “So nice to see you again. You must be enjoying the reprieve from the Texas heat.”

Cale laughed. “I still miss it. You can take the girl out of Texas but you can’t take the Texas out of the girl.” She turned to Kara and offered her hand. “Veronica Cale.”

Kara shook it. “Kara Danvers.” Cat was proud of how professional Kara was coming across.

“Yes, you’re a legend in certain circles. Some say you must have had superpowers to last so long as Cat’s assistant.”

Slightly suspicious, Cat sent a probe into Cale’s mind, but if she was onto Kara’s secret, she was giving no sign. It was probably just a joke.

Kara fidgeted nervously. “My only superpower is a lot of patience and dedication.”

Cale hummed in agreement and turned back to Cat. “So, Cat. I’m assuming you had some purpose in coming here. The Queen of All Media doesn’t waste her time on idle chit-chat.”

“I wanted to personally ask you to reconsider being in the article about charitable contributions to National City. That kind of free PR could really help you break into the area, you know.”

Cale’s eyes glinted. “Not to mention help you sell a lot of newspapers.” _Can’t always count on Supergirl to save the Tribune_.

Cat made sure not to react to the mental dig. “A mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“Well, alright. If y’all can accommodate my schedule. I’m a busy woman.”

“I understand that. I’ll have my people get in touch with yours.”

Cale inclined her head. “Until next time, Cat.”

“Indeed.” Cat turned around. “Come along, Kara.”

“Looks like you didn’t need me after all,” Kara said as they walked away.

“It’s always good to have backup. Someone who can take a second, different approach if the first one doesn’t work.”

They were near the back of the room now. Kara was nodding in agreement when she stopped suddenly.

“Do you hear—” she started to ask, then all hell broke loose. An explosion rocked the building, and chunks of rock began falling down from the ceiling. Already, Cat and Kara were blocked from view, trapped with another couple, when a huge piece of granite started hurtling towards the helpless man and woman. Before she could even think, Cat stretched out with her powers, grabbing the piece of falling masonry. It hung in the air above them, Cat straining with the effort until she put it down gently to their right.

The man fainted and the woman knelt down beside him, anxiously checking him over and paying no attention to Cat and Kara. From outside the rubble, away from where Cat could see, screams and shouts pierced the air. Cat thought she could detect the coppery smell of blood. She turned to Kara to tell her to go, to help, but Kara was focused entirely on her.

“You saved them,” she breathed, looking at Cat like she was the entire world, and then Kara’s lips were on hers and her hands were in her hair and Cat thought she might drown in this kiss. Chaos was crashing down around them and Cat didn’t care, as long as she could keep touching Kara like this, keep feeling Kara’s soft lips and probing tongue. She kissed back feverishly, until Kara jerked away.

“I, Cat, I—” Kara froze and brought her hands to her mouth. “I shouldn’t have, I, I, I have to go. I should be saving people. I should…” She seemed to be at a loss for words, and abruptly took off.

Cat stared after her, hand absently coming up to touch her lips. It felt almost like she’d dreamed it. But she hadn’t. It was real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 35k words and y'all finally got your kiss! Veronica Cale is a real character from the comics, from Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman run. In fact you guys can just assume if there's ever a character you don't recognize they're from the comics and not an OC, as I am a huge nerd and love easter eggs. I had a good time writing a character from my native Texas.
> 
> I've just started school full-time for the first time in years, so my updates may be a little slower. I'll do my best to get them out quickly but mostly I'll be writing on weekends :)
> 
> \--Charlie


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chapter by a_dot_burr_ell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody. 
> 
> As some of you may have noticed, I updated my username to closer match my tumblr username. the only difference is dashes instead of dashes instead of underscores.

Kara was fired, she was sure of it. Because Cat may have forgiven her for a lot—buying Cat her lunch from a chain restaurant, violating her privacy by writing to Adam, throwing her off a balcony while Kara’s brain had been chemically altered—but Kara was sure she’d gone too far the moment she’d buried her hands in Cat’s hair and kissed her senseless.

The explosion had caught them both by surprise, but Kara wouldn’t have been able to act without exposing herself. Unlike her, Cat had acted instinctively, saving the couple beside them without a second thought. Kara had been so overcome by Cat’s heroism that she let her body take control, dipping her tongue into Cat’s mouth and kissing her until they were both breathless.

But the cries of the other guests had broken through the fog and Kara realized that, aside from the line she’d crossed kissing Cat without permission, there were people all around them who were in danger. So she’d pulled back, stammering, and left Cat looking disheveled and glassy-eyed while she found a quiet corner to change into her suit.

It hadn’t taken Kara long to clear the ballroom, lifting sections of debris from anyone not lucky enough to be in range of Cat's telekinesis. The building seemed stable, but the hotel alarm sounded for evacuation anyways. Hotel staff and guests flooded the street as the fire and police department arrived. Hovering in the air, Kara x-rayed the entire building to be sure no one else was trapped, but only saw the authorities performing their investigation.

Kara spotted a detective she recognized from some of her previous rescues and landed carefully beside him. “Did you discover the cause of the blast?”

The detective nodded. “Preliminary reports are showing a gas main leak in the hotel’s laundry room, which is beneath the ballroom—there was a damaged pipe.”

Kara nodded, relieved that they didn’t seem to be dealing with foul play. “That’s something, I suppose.”

“We can take it from here, Supergirl,” he said, inclining his head towards the building. “All that’s left is to take a few statements and rope the damage off. We’re lucky that this wasn’t a lot worse.” He turned away, strolling to a patrol car.

Kara took for the sky and searched for Cat, spotting her off to the side by a CatCo news van that had just arrived. She looked as formidable as ever, despite her flattened curls and the smudge of dirt on her face. Cat directed the cameraman towards the wreckage with a regal wave of her hand, scowling when the poor fool fumbled with his equipment. Kara longed to slip back into her dress and quietly resume her place beside Cat, but she was probably the last person Cat wanted to see right now.  

Determined to give Cat space, Kara took back off into the air. She didn't want to go straight home, not looking forward to moping around her apartment when she should have been enjoying herself at a party with Cat. But that was before the accident. Before the kiss.

Feeling the beginnings of shame, Kara sped up, breaking the sound barrier. There was no chemical imbalance, no mind control, no excuse that could possibly save her. She sped out of the city, making a circuit up and down the coast. Kara knew that she wouldn't be able to recover from this.

She spent almost an hour flying, trying to clear her head. By the time she arrived back at her apartment, Kara was starving, and she felt a pleasant burn in her muscles. She flew in through her large bay windows. She didn’t bother closing them behind her; no one could follow her through them unless they could fly, and anyways, there was a nice breeze filtering in.

Kara dropped her cape and quickly peeled out of her suit. The gala had been such a disaster that all she wanted was to change into her comfiest pair of sweatpants and eat some potstickers. She tugged on her pants and tank top, stopping by the bathroom to wash off the make-up she’d painstakingly applied only hours before.

Kara put a call in to her favorite Chinese food place and ordered copious amounts of noodles, chicken fried rice, and, of course, five helpings of potstickers. Assured that her order would be ready in a little under an hour, Kara decided to wait out the long minutes with a snack.

A buzzing from her cellphone pulled her attention, however, and Kara padded over to where she’d dropped her purse.

 _Hey, sis! Call me when you get home_ — Alex

Kara smiled and hit the button to automatically dial her sister. Alex picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, Kara. I didn’t actually expect you to call me right back. I just wanted to know how your big dance went.”

“It wasn’t a dance, Alex.” Kara grabbed a spoon and rummaged in her freezer for the pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream she’d saved from their last game night. Leaving the lid on the counter, she dug the spoon into the ice cream and took a huge bite.

“I know, I know. I was just kidding.” Kara could practically hear the eyeroll. “But, seriously. It’s only like 8:45. What are you doing home so soon?”

“It was—” Kara sighed, flopping herself down on her couch. “Alex, it was a disaster.”

“Okay, a social disaster or a literal disaster?”

“Both? I mean, forget about the fact that a gas explosion ended the party before it really began,” Kara lamented.

“An explosion?”

“Yeah, and then there was a ton of cement about to crush another couple and I couldn't act without exposing myself as Supergirl!”

“Kara! Don't tell me you—”

Kara ignored her and pushed on—she hadn't even gotten to the disastrous bit yet. “No, I didn’t.” Alex breathed a sigh of relief. “Cat did.”

“Wait, what?”

“Cat saved the couple! She used her powers to shift the debris away.”

“Did anyone see?”

“No, I don't think anyone saw her but me.” Kara took another bite of ice cream.

“Thank god you didn't do anything stupid.”

“Well…”

“What did you do, Kara?” Alex demanded.

“I...may have...been so moved by what Cat did that I...kissed her.”

“You did _what_!?”

Kara winced. That was about the reaction she had expected. “I know, I know…”

“Please tell me you didn't do anything else?”

Kara filled her sister in on the remainder of the evening, recounting the evacuation and the findings of the investigation. “And after that I didn’t know what to do so I just flew back home,” she finished miserably, stuffing another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

Alex let out a low whistle. “Wow. That’s—wow. Yup, you’re screwed.”

Kara groaned, stabbing her spoon into the frozen treat and letting her head fall back.

“Okay, I’m sure it isn’t that bad,” Alex said consolingly.

“I kissed her with tongue.” Kara buried her face in her hands.

“Yeah, I’ll grab a pizza and I’ll head on over—”

“No.” Kara ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m fine. I have Chinese food coming.”

“Kara,” Alex warned. Her sister knew of her tendency to isolate herself on occasion.

_Knock, knock._

Kara glanced at the time and frowned. “It’s too early for my Chinese food.”

A quick shot of x-ray vision revealed Cat standing outside her door. She looked disheveled and irate, and was rhythmically tapping one heel against the cracked linoleum. Kara’s eyes widened as Cat knocked again, more insistently this time.

“Shit, it's Cat!” Kara leaped up from the couch, the pint of ice cream falling onto the hardwood.

“What?”

“Cat is outside my door,” Kara hissed, retrieving the container and righting it on her coffee table.

“You want to fly to my apartment?”

“I know you're in there!” Cat shouted. “I heard you drop something!”

Kara winced.

“I'll take that as a ‘no’. Good luck, Supergirl.” She hung up.

Kara tossed the phone on the couch and walked slowly to the door, trying to gather her thoughts. Why would Cat come all the way out here? Maybe she was worried that Kara would avoid the office and she wanted to fire her in person.

“Any day now, Kara!”

Taking a deep breath, Kara pulled open the door.

* * *

_Fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three…_

Cat counted the seconds in her head as she waited for Kara to open her apartment door. She prepared to shout again, obscenities this time, taking a deep breath and—

Kara appeared in the entryway, the door thrown wide behind her. She’d changed out of her dress, something which made Cat both grateful and annoyed. On the one hand, it was easier to think without getting lost in the curve of Kara’s neck or the dip in her dress that led past the swell of her chest; but on the other hand, seeing Kara in sweatpants and bare feet, her hair tousled from being pulled out of her intricate up-do, and her face scrubbed clean of make-up—it was a sight that threatened to douse the anger that had filled Cat once she realized that Kara had fled, leaving her alone amidst the chaos.

“Ms. Gran—uh, Cat, I mean…What are you doing here?”

Kara’s stammering brought Cat’s anger back to the forefront and she leveled Kara with a glare. She felt a certain amount of pleasure as Kara visibly paled. After all, this was the woman who had ran off after kissing her senseless, and Cat had been left to stew on her anger during the hour she was stuck in traffic.

“Are you going to let me in or are we going to have this discussion out in the hallway?” she asked pointedly.

Kara stepped aside and Cat stalked into the apartment, throwing her clutch purse down on the dining table. She could hear Kara closing the door behind them and took the opportunity to survey the room.

It was a large studio, with the kitchen and laundry appliances off to one side, high vaulted ceilings, and tall windows that would fill the apartment with daylight. There were decorative folding screens behind the little alcove that Kara had created with her sofas and television that strategically blocked a bed and chest of drawers, creating the illusion of privacy. In the opposite end of the room, Cat spotted an easel with a half-finished painting, a handful of completed canvases stacked against the wall.

If Cat hadn’t been so incensed, she would have asked Kara how she could afford such a large place. She knew how much she paid her assistant—er, former assistant—and there was no way Kara could afford a place this big in downtown National City on the peanuts she earned. Cat sensed Kara hovering behind her and spun around.

“So,” Cat started, placing her hands on her hips and cocking her head to the side.

Kara seized on Cat’s pause, stammering and gesticulating wildly with her hands. “Cat, I—uh, I didn’t mean…”

“What? Didn’t mean to kiss me?” She eyed Kara critically, one eyebrow raised.

Kara’s eyes squeezed shut. “I am so sorry—”

“Stop.” Cat held a hand up to silence her. “Sit.” She pointed to the couch closest to them.

Kara scrambled to obey, her eyes tracking Cat as Cat moved to sit on the other side of the couch.  Kara shifted back as Cat sat beside her, much like she had when Cat had delivered her ultimatum demanding proof that Kara wasn’t Supergirl, almost as if she was afraid to get too close.

“You kissed me,” Cat started again.

“I know and I’m so sor—”

“If you utter one more apology before I’ve even had a chance to have my say, I swear…” Cat let the threat trail off and Kara nodded dutifully. “You kissed me and then you left me amongst a throng of idiots who didn’t know their ass from their elbow!” Kara winced. “Do you know how long it took me to get through to my driver to pick me up? I was in traffic for over an hour! And then I had to walk up four flights of stairs before I got here!”

Kara jumped to her feet. “I know, okay? I know what I did was horrible, unforgivable. And then you had to drive all the way over here just to fire me or—”

“What are you talking about?” Cat demanded, standing and rushing to block Kara’s path.

Kara tried to back away, so Cat used her powers to cut her off from behind. Kara was effectively trapped unless she tried to fly away, something Cat hoped she wouldn’t do.

Kara stopped, her gaze falling on the floor between them. “I know you don’t…feel the same way,” Kara whispered.

With Kara’s words hanging in the air between them, Cat finally realized why Kara had fled from her. Not for the first time, she wished she could know what was going on in Kara’s mind.

“You idiot.” Kara jerked her head up. “I didn’t drag myself down here to tell you off for kissing me or to slap you with a restraining order!”

“Then, why?”

“I came down here because I couldn’t believe you would leave me hanging like that!”

Kara grew very still, her lips parted slightly, and Cat realized that she’d have to settle this, once and for all. She closed the distance between them, reaching up to wrap her arms around Kara’s neck and standing on her tiptoes to bring their lips together for their second kiss. For a moment, it felt like kissing stone. Or maybe steel. Satin-covered steel.

But, then, the kiss broke through Kara's resolve the longer Cat pressed herself against Kara's front. Kara breathed deeply, seeming to come to life as she returned the pressure against her lips. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and Cat felt herself being slightly lifted from the ground.

Kara moaned against her mouth, and Cat took the opportunity to run her tongue across Kara's bottom lip the same way Kara had done to her earlier that night. Kara opened her mouth wider to allow Cat’s tongue to dip in, and Cat groaned at the feeling. Kara tasted sweet and her mouth was cool, the hint of chocolate and mint still on her tongue.

Just like their first kiss, Cat’s head swam and all she wanted was _more_. She was dimly aware of some odd scraping somewhere in the apartment but ignored the sound, too busy to care. At that moment, Kara drew back. Cat tried to chase her lips, but Kara angled her head up.

“Cat, if you wanted to sit down, all you had to do was ask,” Kara said, breathless.

“What?” Cat opened her eyes.

“You're moving the couch.”

The furniture around them had, indeed, shifted. The couch had swiveled around to press against the backs of Kara’s legs and was gently ramming into her calves repeatedly. “Oh.” Cat hadn’t consciously meant to move anything. “Let me put it back the way it was.”

Kara brushed a tendril of hair from her face. “I can always move it back later.”

“Alright,” Cat said. “I guess we should sit, then.”

Cat resumed kissing Kara, pressing down on her shoulders. Wordlessly, Kara obliged, sinking down onto the cushions as Cat settled herself with little room between them. It gave Cat a small thrill in her stomach to know that Kara would bend to her despite being unfathomably strong, and it urged her on.

She tangled her hands into Kara's hair, her nails scraping her scalp and drawing a low moan from her. Pulling Kara's head back, Cat began to place hot kisses on Kara's jaw, moving slowly towards her throat. She was so focused on tasting Kara that Cat gasped as she felt Kara’s hands slide beneath her suit jacket, warm against her skin.

She’d forgone wearing an undershirt, not wanting to mess with the appeal of the jacket’s plunging neckline. She was acutely aware now that it would take no effort to unhook the buttons keeping the jacket against her and shrug it off.

Suddenly, Kara pulled away, scowling. “Someone’s here.”

“Your sister?” Cat sat back, straining her hearing. She could make out only muffled thoughts, but it wasn’t a mental voice she recognized.  

“No, it’s my food.”

Sure enough, someone was knocking a second later and announcing they were from Mr. Wang’s. Cat tried not to pout as Kara’s hands slid out from under her jacket and she padded over to the door. It was only a few moments before she was coming back with two large bags of food.

“How much did you order?” Cat asked, watching wide-eyed as Kara unpacked box after box.

“It’s mostly potstickers,” Kara said, shooting her a sheepish smile. “Do you want any? I mean…I have noodles, too.”

Cat studied the nervous way Kara was holding herself, her hair more disheveled after having Cat’s hands buried there, her eyes unable to settle in one place. Cat knew it was because Kara was unsure of how this would alter their already-changing relationship—Cat felt it, too. They’d gone from working together without Cat knowing much about her, to semi-friends, and now, they were entering new territory once again.

“I'll take some potstickers,” Cat said. “Then, maybe we could talk?”

Kara smiled, holding Cat’s gaze. Cat tried to mirror the warmth in her own eyes but the moment was again interrupted, this time by Cat’s own phone. She recognized the text tone as the special alert she’d set for Carter and the nanny and knew at once that she wouldn't be able to ignore it.

Crossing to where she’d left her purse, Cat grabbed her phone.

 _Ms. Grant, Carter has spiked a fever and can't keep anything down. This might be the beginnings of the flu_ — Ella

“I have to go,” Cat said, quickly shooting a text to her driver, whom she'd ordered to stay out on the street. “It's Carter.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “What's wrong, is he okay?”

“He's starting to get sick. The nanny thinks it might be the flu.”

“Okay.” Kara rounded the table. “Do you want me to fly you home?”

Cat smiled. “It's not necessary, I still have my car downstairs.” Kara deflated somewhat so Cat added, “but thank you.”

Kara seemed uncertain, so Cat wrapped her arms around her waist and placed another kiss to the girl’s lips. “Raincheck?”

“Of course.” Kara nodded eagerly, the color returning to her cheeks.

Cat headed for the door and closed it behind her. There'd be time to discuss things with Kara tomorrow. Right now she had to attend to her son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everybody enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter by captain-jaybird

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. Kara had been up half the night, pacing anxiously around her apartment before deciding that her energy would be better used toward some superheroics. She flew around the city stopping crimes, trying to convince herself that the swooping feeling in her stomach was from adrenaline and flying, not her aborted conversation with Cat.

Did it still count as a conversation if it was mostly kissing?  _ Really good _ kissing, Kara admitted. She still couldn’t believe that Cat had come not to fire her, but to pursue her. She just didn’t know exactly what that meant.

She could pretty safely assume Cat was attracted to her. The Queen of All Media wasn’t really known for kissing people she didn’t want, not even for publicity stunts. Kara knew Cat valued her sexual and romantic integrity in the face of media pressure. But what if Cat wanted her to be a...a sidepiece, or something? What could naive, awkward Kara Danvers possibly have to offer her, other than potential embarrassment in the press? She was no John Stamos, that was for sure.

And Alex and J’onn would  _ kill _ her if she showed up in the news as Kara. Alex wouldn’t even let her have an Instagram (“It’s too dangerous to have your face out there, Kara. You know that.”). But...if she could be with Cat, would she even care?

Kara sighed and pulled her stack of waffles closer. She’d gone through an entire box of Eggos already. Nothing made her already prodigious metabolism faster than anxiety. Some people went off food when they were nervous. Kara? Kara could probably eat the contents of an entire bodega.

She glanced hopefully at her phone. No word from Cat yet. Her fingers twitched, wanting to reach out to her, but it was only 7 am. Kara needed far less sleep than humans (she still wasn’t entirely sure if she actually needed it at all) and tended to rise with the sun. She’d done so this morning, the sun’s rays coming through her windows and waking her up more quickly than any cup of coffee ever could. 

Normally, waking up so early was great, giving her time to relax and prepare for her day. Today though...Kara wished she were more capable of sleeping in. The minutes seemed to crawl by. For once she was actually trying to not just inhale her food. She was pretty sure she was chewing more thoroughly than she ever had in her life. Alex would be so proud.

Kara would text her, but Alex  _ hated _ waking up early. Kara was pretty sure one of the reasons her sister liked working at the DEO so much was that she could work night shifts instead of mornings. Most people said nothing good happens after 1 am. Alex said nothing good happens before noon.

Kara finished her breakfast and washed her dishes. She could watch the morning news, but it would only stress her out even more. Election years were the worst, and Kara was pretty much surrounded by it at CatCo.

But...it was Saturday. Saturday morning cartoons!

She settled down to watch Tom and Jerry. The revamped version playing on Cartoon Network wasn’t as good the originals Alex had shown her, but Kara still liked it. It would have been great—except every time someone said anything about a feline, Kara thought of Cat. She groaned and threw her head back. This morning was officially awful.

Her phone dinged and Kara nearly jumped out of her seat. The time read 8:00 am. The text was from Cat.

_ I know it’s early but if you’re up, perhaps you could come over and we could resume our conversation from last night. _

Kara scrambled to reply in the affirmative. She wondered how long Cat had been up, if she’d been waiting for an appropriate time to text. Was it possible she was as nervous as Kara?

She looked down at her pajamas, an old Stanhope College t-shirt and teddy bear boxers. She could fly over in her costume, but she didn’t want to have this conversation as Supergirl.

Kara agonized over her clothing for a good five minutes, wishing Alex were there while remaining conscious of the ticking clock. Finally, she settled on her best-fitting jeans and a nice button-up. She looked good, but not too formal. Hopefully attractive to Cat, but not like she was trying to be. True, she  _ was _ trying, but Cat didn’t need to know that.  _ Act casual _ , Kara reminded herself.

She rode the bus to Cat’s penthouse. It took longer than she’d like, but she couldn’t exactly fly to downtown National City in her civilian clothes. 

Cat looked surprised when she opened the door. “What took you so long?”

“I couldn’t fly in these clothes. And...and I didn’t want to have this conversation as her.” Kara could feel herself blushing, but forced herself to look Cat in the eye. For her part, Cat smiled gently when Kara admitted she’d come as herself, not her cape. 

“Come in,” Cat said, stepping aside. “Carter’s still asleep. He probably will be for a while, since he’s still running a fever.”

“Is he alright? I can go, you don’t have to—”

“Kara,” Cat interrupted firmly, laying a hand on her arm. “He’s fine. Kids get sick, and the doctor thinks it’s just a 24 hour bug after all. His temperature has already gone down. I’d like to have this conversation before I talk myself out of it.”

Kara nodded and followed Cat to the living room, taking in her appearance. She was dressed more casually than Kara had ever seen her, barefoot and in what Kara was sure were designer sweatpants, with a loose, flowy top. She looked beautiful, and almost uncharacteristically soft. 

“I, um,” Kara started, before realizing she didn’t know what to say. “I…”

“Sit down,” Cat said, patting the couch cushion next to her. Kara did, settling down awkwardly at a distance she hoped was neither too close nor too far, fiddling with her hands.

“We kissed,” Cat continued, and Kara hummed her agreement. Cat’s grin turned sly. “Several times, in fact.”

Kara laughed, still a little nervous, but feeling more at ease. “We did. But...I, it, to me...what does it mean?”

“What did it mean to  _ you _ ?”

_ Everything _ , Kara wanted to say. “Cat, I…” Kara mustered up her courage, sitting up straighter and willing her voice to be steady. “I’ve liked you. For a long time. I think I liked you before I realized it. When Mortis kidnapped you, when I thought you were dead...that was when I knew. And I don’t want this to be a one-off thing.”

“I don’t either.”

Kara looked at Cat sharply. She hadn’t dared to hope for that.

“Before this all began, before Mortis, before the powers, before everything, I knew I had an...infatuation. I was convinced I could never act on it. I was your boss, I was older, you were secretly a superhero, and most importantly, I was sure my feelings couldn’t be reciprocated. I was resolved to get over it.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No. I pride myself on my self-control, my self-discipline. But you—I couldn’t shake you. Not since that morning at 10:15, if I’m being honest. You were constantly surprising me, do you know how rare that is? And more than anything, you stayed. No matter what happened, you never left.”

“I didn’t want to leave you.” Kara reached out and put a hand on Cat’s knee. “I still don’t.”

“Most of the obstacles I listed are still true, you know,” Cat said, but didn’t remove Kara’s hand from her leg. “I’m still your boss, if more indirectly, still older, you’re still a superhero. This won’t be easy.”

“Nothing worth having ever is. Being Supergirl is the best thing I’ve ever done, and one of the hardest.”

“Always the hero. Dating me might take those qualities, admittedly.”

Kara felt her heart leap in her chest. “Dating? You mean, you actually want to try this?”

Cat rolled her eyes. “That would be the logical conclusion to my showing up at your apartment to kiss you, wouldn’t it?

“I...I was afraid that you’d, that you’d want to keep this behind closed doors. That you wouldn’t want anyone to know.”

“Well, I’m not planning to advertise it, but I’m not  _ ashamed _ of you, Kara. I don’t want to make you my dirty little secret. How could you think—”

“It’s just, I’m not up to your standards!” Kara burst out. “I’m not cool, I’m not famous. You’re not dating Supergirl, you’re dating Kara Danvers. And she, I mean I, I thought maybe that wasn’t good enough.”

“Not good enough? You’re  _ too _ good for me. But I decided weeks ago that I didn’t care, I’d deal with the fallout. What’s the point of being smart and rich and hot and powerful if you’re too scared to go after what you really want? And I want to try this.”

“Then let’s try,” Kara said, and surged forward and kissed her again. She had thought their kisses before were amazing but now, knowing it wasn’t ending, that this was a beginning, it was enough to curl her toes. Cat gasped against her, and Kara deepened the kiss, hungrily pressing into her. Cat moaned, but pushed Kara back, just a little.

“Wait,” she panted. “This is good, it’s very good, but we still have some things we need to discuss.”

“Right,” Kara answered, brain foggy. “Like, um, like what?”

“Dating is a rather nebulous concept. We need to talk about how public it’ll be, who we’ll tell, exclusivity. That kind of thing.”

“I want it to be exclusive,” Kara blurted out.

Cat huffed a little laugh. “I’m fine with that. And I imagine you’ll want to tell your sister? And J’onn should probably be told as well, since I’d rather he not find out from any accidental mind reading. I suppose that means Baby Lane too, because if you’re letting one director of the DEO know you may as well tell the other.”

“What about other people?”

Cat considered a moment. “You should use your judgement. I’m not going to start this relationship by telling you what you can and can’t do. I just ask that you have a little extra discretion with people connected to CatCo. We’ll need to inform HR at some point, but I’d rather do that after a few dates to see how well this works, first.”

“I can wait a little bit to tell Winn and James,” Kara conceded, “but they’re my best friends and I don’t want to hide it for long.”

“That’s reasonable. The person I’d need to tell beyond HR is Carter. I’m going to give it a few weeks, because he likes you and I don’t want to get him excited if it turns out to be short-term.”

Kara had been beaming from the moment Cat said Carter liked her, and was still smiling as she agreed that was a good idea. “Anything else?”

“The press,” Cat said, and Kara’s smile faded. “They won’t be kind to either of us, but I’m used to it. Golddigger is probably the nicest thing they’ll call you.”

“I can handle it. But...having my face in the tabloids, it might compromise my identity.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Kara blinked, surprised but grateful. “Do you think you could convince J’onn to appear as Supergirl at a public event that you attend with me? Presuming our relationship goes that far and people start asking questions. Until they do, it’s probably best we just lay low.”

“I could probably get him to do that. It’s a good idea.” Kara paused, then smirked. “Are we done talking now? Because there’s other things I’d really like to do?”

Cat’s eyes gleamed. “I could be persuaded to engage in other activities.”

Kara leaned in, and Cat met her halfway, nipping at Kara’s lower lip. Kara eagerly let her in. She slipped a hand under Cat’s shirt, feeling her soft, warm skin. Cat groaned, and Kara shifted her hands higher, until she was just brushing the underside of Cat’s breasts. Cat felt so light in her arms.

“Kara,” Cat breathed, pulling away. “Don’t stop.”

Kara planted kisses up her neck, to her jawline. Cat was feeling like she weighed less and less the more Kara kissed her. Kara pulled away.

“Cat,” she gasped, “you’re floating!”

\---------------

Cat looked down and stifled the undignified squawk that threatened to come out of her throat. She was hovering a good six inches above the couch. Now, almost as soon as she’d realized she was doing it, she dropped down on the cushions with a soft  _ thump _ . Kara gaped at her.

“You—you can fly?”

“I don’t know,” Cat replied honestly. “I didn’t know I was doing it. I don’t know how I did.”

“Can you do it again?” Kara’s gaze was oddly intent, and Cat wondered what this meant to her.

“I told you, I don’t know how I did it.”

“Well, how were you feeling when you did?” Cat tilted her head, eyes narrowing, and the superhero blushed. “It’s just, when I fly, it’s not a purely physical thing. There’s this rush of, of joy, I feel almost weightless. It makes it easy to just leave gravity behind.”

“I was feeling…” Cat trailed off. She didn’t want to say “turned on.” “Excited. Full of...possibilities.”

“Close your eyes,” Kara said softly. Cat gave her a look. “Just trust me.”

Sighing, Cat obeyed. She heard Kara shift slightly on the couch, and then felt her take her hand. “What are you doing?”

“Relax. Try to think of...think of things that are good in your life. Things you look forward to. And if you feel some kind of energy...try to grab onto it.”

Cat could roll her eyes at the sentimentality of it all, but she did as Kara asked. The first thing she thought of was Carter.  Her little boy was growing up so fast...he would be taller than her soon. She couldn’t wait to see what he would do with his life. Cat thought she felt the stirrings of  _ something _ . She thought of Kara, of this fledgling, fragile thing between them. Of how soft her lips were when she kissed her, how kind her eyes were every time she looked at Cat. The strongest woman in the world, holding her as gently as if she were made of glass. Cat felt the energy, the connection rushing within her, and she seized it. Opening her eyes, she willed herself up, watching as her eyes met Kara’s, first level, and then looking down at her. Cat smiled.

“You did it!” Kara cheered. “Oh, Cat, you can  _ fly _ !”

“Mom?!” Carter exclaimed from the doorway, and Cat felt shocked and confused thoughts coming from him. “What’s going on?”

Cat lowered herself back down. “Sweetheart, let me explain. I promise, I was going to tell you eventually.”

_ Were you? _ Carter thought, looking at her with his jaw clenched, and with effort Cat closed her mind to him. She didn’t want to invade his privacy right now, not so soon after she’d betrayed his trust.

“Carter, this is very new, I didn’t want to tell you until we knew better what was going on.”

“Who’s we?” Carter’s eyes flicked to Kara. “Is Kara here because she’s Supergirl?”

“What!” Kara leapt up. “Carter, that’s not, that’s ridiculous, I couldn’t possibly be Supergirl, I’m, I’m—”

“A really bad liar,” he said reprovingly. “I knew it was you on the train. I’m not stupid.”

Kara stopped wringing her hands and looked beseechingly at Cat. Cat sighed and said, “I think the cat’s out of the bag on that one.”

Kara turned back to Carter. “I know you’re not stupid. But Carter, knowing who I am, that’s dangerous. I never wanted to put you in harm’s way. Can you understand that?”

Cat watched her son think for a moment, and saw his face clearing the moment he decided to accept it. “Yeah, I can. Are you helping my mom?”

“Yes, she is,” Cat answered, stepping in. “But I think that’s a conversation you and I should have alone.”

Kara picked up on the dismissal, just as Cat knew she would. “I’ll go on home. Bye, Carter. Cat.”

Cat bit her lip. She wasn’t sure she wanted Kara gone quite yet. “You could wait in the drawing room. We...there are still things we should discuss.” Out of the corner of her eye, Cat registered Carter’s surprise. Closed off though she was, she could pick up that he could tell something was different between them.

Kara nodded and smiled. “Okay. I will.”

After she had left, Cat faced Carter again. His brow was furrowed. “Do you remember when I got kidnapped?” she asked.

Carter nodded, thoughtfulness morphing into concern. “Did something happen then?”

“Yes. There was...an accident. When I woke up, I found out I had powers.” Cat paused, not sure if she wanted to reveal the exact nature of them, but knowing she couldn’t risk pushing her son away by being selective in the truths she told him. “I discovered that I could read minds.”

Carter’s jaw dropped open in horror. “You can read minds? Did you read  _ my  _ mind? About Supergirl, about Kara, I don’t  _ really _ have a crush, I—”

Cat filed away  _ that _ little complication about her relationship with Kara to deal with later before gently interrupting, “It was hard to control at first, but I’ve worked very hard to learn how my powers work and how to use them. I promise you, I’m not reading your mind right now and I would never willingly invade your privacy like that.”

Carter’s breath left him in a relieved rush of air. “Oh. Okay. Do you have any other powers?”

“Telekinesis. And we’ve just discovered I can fly.”

Carter’s eyes lit up. “That’s so cool! What’s it like? Can you take me? Who knows about this? Are you gonna be a hero?”

“One question at a time!” Cat laughed. “It’s like...like an energy that builds up until I let it out. Maybe someday I’ll take you, but don’t count on it. Kara and some of the people she works with as Supergirl know. Am I going to be a hero…”

The truth was, Cat  _ had _ been thinking about it. She had saved that couple instinctively, and as distracted as she’d been after her kiss with Kara, it had felt good. Cat became a reporter to make the world better. And now she’d been given a chance to change the world like she’d never had before. Was she just going to sit on it?

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “What do you think?”

“Of course you should! Why wouldn’t you?”

“Well, I’m already famous. I don’t think I could have a secret identity, not when the whole world already knows my face. It might make our lives harder.”

Carter shrugged. “I still think you should do it.”

“I think…” Cat frowned. “I think I should talk to Kara. Are we okay now?”

In answer, Carter rushed forward and threw his arms around her middle. Quickly, before he could get embarrassed like the teenager he was becoming, Cat dropped a kiss on his head. 

“I think I need to process,” Carter said matter-of-factly. “It’s a lot. I’m gonna go to my room now. You and Kara can talk.”

Cat nodded, smiling at her boy, proud of him for using the skills he’d learned to deal with stressful situations. Once he was gone, Cat went to find Kara.

“I’ve been thinking,” she said, stepping into the drawing room, “about something important that I wanted to discuss with you.”

Kara turned to her, eyebrow raised quizzically. “What’s that?”

Cat drew closer, standing just a shade too near to be considered platonic, but not daring to go further with Carter up and about. “Saving those people the other night, it felt good. I...it’s something I could do more.”

Kara’s smile lit up her face. She was practically glowing. “Oh, Cat, really?”

“Really. But I would have to go to someone else for an...outfit,” Cat finished, finding the idea of a costume distasteful. “I don’t want to risk a primary colored nightmare.”

Kara shook her head, smiling. “I’m sure you could work something out.”

“Yes,” Cat agreed. “I think it’s time to introduce National City to a new hero.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for the long delay. I got super busy with school (not so much midterms week as midterms season) and then was kinda depressed after the election and unproductive. I'll try to be better at updating! I'm about to go on winter break, so.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter by a_dot_burr_ell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Mayka for helping whip this chapter into shape. I couldn't have done it without you.

“Okay, try and match my height.” Kara left the ground, hovering ten feet in the air, amused by the fact that the DEO agents around them gave no reaction to the casual display of powers anymore.

“How’s this?” Cat rose into the air—albeit much less steadily than Kara had.

“That’s good! Want to try a loop?” Kara demonstrated for her, flying so fast that her skirt didn’t even flutter.

Cat tried to somersault forward but only managed to lean forward enough so that she looked like she was doing a breaststroke in mid-air. “A little help, please, Supergirl!”

Kara bit her lip to hold back her laughter, darting forward and righting her. “Try again.”

“I bet you didn’t have these problems when you first started,” Cat groused.

“No,” Kara admitted. “The problems I experienced had more to do with making sure that I didn’t land so hard I cracked the continental plate.” Cat gaped at her. “Anyways, you’ll get the hang of it.”

Cat shook her head. “In time, perhaps.” She touched down to the ground. “Maybe I’d progress a little faster if I could practice outside of here. Testing indoors can only tell us so much.”

Kara threw a look over to where J’onn and Alex were supervising. “She kind of has a point. If we want to get an accurate reading on how fast she can go, how easily she can maneuver around obstacles, how long she can keep it up…”

“How high I can go…” Cat added.

“You don’t want to go higher than 26,000 feet,” Alex said. “Your body still needs oxygen.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t planning on going that high.”

“What do you suppose we do? Test her like we tested you?” J’onn crossed his arms over his chest. “Send anti-air missiles at her and see if she can dodge them?”

“I was thinking more like a supervised flight test. I can go with her and maybe we can take a lap around the bay?” Kara clasped her hands in front of her body and gave J’onn a sly smile. “Please?”

“That’s a little too public, don’t you think?” J’onn challenged, impervious to her pleading.

“My beach house affords slightly more privacy,” Cat offered. “And we’ve practiced there before.”  
He locked eyes with her and they both fell silent as they mentally sparred. Kara could tell the moment it ended that Cat had won because she shimmied just a little bit while J’onn sighed deeply.

“Fine!” he grumbled. “Just make sure it stays under the radar. I don't want to turn on the nightly news and see a headline about a flying CEO.”

“Uh…” Kara looked sharply towards Cat but the woman remained as poised as ever.

“Actually, J’onn, we should probably have another chat about that,” Cat said, slipping on her previously discarded heels and leading him down the corridor.

“What was that about?” Alex asked as she watched Cat whisk J’onn away.

“Cat...uh…” How was Kara supposed to tell her sister that Cat was planning on coming out to the public as a superhero? Alex hadn't been that receptive when she’d broached the same topic with her a year ago. “Wants to be...a hero.”

Alex’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Well,” she said after a moment. “I can't say that I'm entirely surprised.”

“What?” Kara blinked at her sister.

Alex shrugged. “Nothing.” Kara crossed her arms. “I'm just saying…it makes sense that Cat Grant would take the opportunity to brand herself as a superhero.”

“That's not why someone chooses to go out and save people! Cat has always tried to help others, and now that she has these powers, she told me that she wants to try doing that in a more direct way!” They had spoken at length in the last few days about it and Kara had been blown away by Cat’s desire to join her in protecting National City.

Alex held up her hands. “Hey! Hey! I didn’t mean it like that. I was just saying that it wasn’t a reach. Cat Grant is not one to hide.”

“No, she’s not.”

“But, uh, you guys are really talking, huh?” Alex studied Kara carefully. “I guess she didn’t mind that kiss after all.”

“No, she didn’t.” Kara nodded, blushing. “We decided to try dating.”

Alex hugged her. “Good for you, Kara. But superpowers or not, if she hurts you,” she warned, pulling back, “there won’t be enough of her left to bury.”

“Your threat is noted,” Cat said, reappearing alone.

Alex smirked, turning to face Cat with her arms crossed over her chest. “Good.”

Cat’s eyes cut away from Alex and settled on Kara. “But I’m hoping it won’t be necessary.” Kara smiled and the corners of Cat’s lips turned upward. “Now, if we’re all set with the science experiments for the day, I have some work to finish up.”

“I'll get someone to drive you back to CatCo.” Alex waved over to the nearest agent.

“Thank you, Agent Danvers.” Cat pressed a quick kiss to Kara's cheek. “Call me later so that we can discuss flying. I really want to try for this weekend if you're free.”

“Sounds good,” Kara said, flustered by Cat's casual show of affection. “I-I will. Call you. Later, um, tonight.” Cat waggled her fingers in farewell and then she was gone.

Alex waited until the click of Cat’s heels could no longer be heard in the halls before rounding on Kara. “Smooth, Supergirl, real smooth.”

“Shut up.” Kara gently elbowed her sister.

“But really, she seems different. Less...prickly.”

“Cat's never really been _prickly_ , it's always been an act.” An act that had been rapidly fading in the last week.

They hadn't gotten much time to spend together since their impromptu kissing session, but Cat always managed to carve out some time around Kara's schedule; private lunches, stolen kisses on her balcony, flyby’s late at night when superhero duties kept Kara away for too long. Each time, Cat had been affectionate, and open in a way that drew Kara in and had her wishing that they had more time together.

“Well, whatever it is...you look happy.”

“I am,” Kara admitted. Now if she could only manage not to screw it up.

* * *

“Carter!” Cat tore open the hall closet and gathered a few clean towels into her arms. “We’re leaving in five minutes! Bring your things to the living room, please!”

“I'm already ready, mom.” Carter poked his head into the hallway, already wearing his swim trunks and rash guard. There were a pair of sunglasses on his face and a white splotch of sunscreen on his nose. “I'm just waiting for you.”

“My mistake.” Cat said, smirking at Carter's sass. “I'll be ready in a minute.”

He took the towels from her arms. “Here, now you have two minutes.”

“Thank you.” She dipped a kiss to the top of his head.

“Hurry up!” he admonished. “Wouldn't want to hold things up for your _date_!”

Cat froze. “What? Why would you say that?”

Carter's face fell slightly. “Mom, it's pretty obvious that you and Kara are…” He shrugged his shoulders. “You know...together.”

“How did you—?” She blinked at him in disbelief.

“I came to your room a couple of nights ago when you were on the phone. I wasn't planning on listening to your conversation but I heard enough to know who it was. Then you mentioned kissing.” His face reddened. “So then I just assumed.”

Slinging an arm around his shoulder, she steered him to the living room. “Hey,” she said, keeping her voice soft as he sat on the couch. “That's not how I wanted you to find out about this.”

“I know. It was an accident, I didn't mean to eavesdrop.”

“That's not what I meant.” Cat knelt in front of him. “I wanted to tell you about my relationship with Kara once we both knew that this was something that would stick.”

They had yet to go out on a formal date, but Cat had been more than pleased at the amount of time they'd been spending together. Aside from the low-key lunches at the office, where Cat spent most of the hour talking while Kara shoveled food into her mouth, they'd also begun talking on the phone every night for over an hour. It was intimate, their conversations, and it made Cat feel giddy inside to be connecting with someone on a purely emotional level. It wasn’t that she wasn't interested in embarking with Kara into a physical aspect of their relationship, but after two failed marriages and more than a decade of only one-night stands, it was a nice change.

Carter ducked his head. “It's okay.” _It's because you think I'm a kid. But I can handle things. I just want to be includ—_

Cat took a deep breath and shut herself off from her son’s thoughts. She didn't want to intrude further. “Carter, it's not okay.” She caressed his face. “I shouldn't have hid this from you. You are the most important part of my life.” He smiled. “I know there have been a lot of changes recently—with the kidnapping, my powers, and with Kara.”

“Yeah.” Carter nodded.

“And those things have happened with you in the dark, and for that, I am sorry.” She took his left hand from where it had been resting on his lap. “It stops now. From now on, I’ll try to discuss anything that may affect you, okay?” She brushed a curl back from his face.

“Deal.” He squeezed her hand. “And for the record, I'm actually really happy that you and Kara are together.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. Maybe we can tell her that. She’s been worried that you wouldn't approve.” ‘Worry’ may have been a little strong, but they had broached the subject of telling Carter soon and Kara had seemed apprehensive about his reaction.

He chuckled. “Kara is a superhero and she's worried that _I_ wouldn't approve?”

“She is rather silly sometimes.” Cat bit back a smile. “Now come on. We don't want to keep her waiting.”

He leapt up. “I'll go grab your bag from your room.”

“Okay, I'm just getting my shoes.” She wandered to where she'd left her sandals and slipped them on while Carter reemerged with their bags.

Finally ready, they left the apartment and packed everything into the car. There was a bit of traffic getting out of the city, but by the time she pulled into the private driveway of the beach house, the sun was high overhead, heralding a warm post-summer weekend.

Carter exited the car, scanning the driveway. “Where is she?”

“She isn’t here yet,” Cat said, pulling the bags from the car.

“There she is!” He pointed up to the sky.

As if on cue, Supergirl descended, landing beside the car. Even windswept, Kara hardly had a hair out of place, and a huge smile was spreading across her face. “Hey guys!”

“Supergirl! Or is it okay to call you Kara?” Carter asked, beaming.

“Kara is fine since we’re by ourselves.” She took the bags out of Cat’s hands. “Hi,” she whispered.

“Hello.” Cat ran her fingers over the fabric of Kara’s suit, tracing the seam that ran over her bicep. She leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek but Kara stiffened, her eyes cutting over to Carter.

“I thought we were waiting?” Kara worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

“He figured it out.” Cat shrugged, raising her hand and brushing her thumb along Kara’s lips.

“And he’s okay with it?”

“He is.” Cat cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a better kiss. “I told you it would be fine.”

Kara flushed, removing Cat’s hand from her face and bringing it between them, lacing their fingers together. “You were right. So, are you ready to fly?”

Excitement blossomed in Cat’s stomach. “Let’s go.”

Carter led the way, bypassing the house and heading straight for the beach. When he reached the canopy they kept up during the summer, he turned back and waved. “You two are so slow!” he shouted, his breathing heavy from running on the sand.

“Oh yeah?” Kara called back, a playful glint in her eyes. Suddenly, she disappeared from Cat’s side, reappearing past Carter as a shower of sand rained down upon him.

“Hey!” he laughed, dusting sand out of his hair. “No fair!”

“You’re the one who had to provoke the superhero,” Cat chided, finally catching up.

“How did you get your powers?” Carter asked. “Why do you seem younger than Superman? What was it like fighting Livewire? Is Kara your real name or did you get it when you came to earth?”

“Uhh…” Kara fidgeted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, her hands grasping the edges of her cape like she wanted to wrap herself up in it. “I don’t, I mean, maybe we could hold off—” She looked to Cat for help.

“Carter, maybe we can put a pin in the questions until later.” Cat put her arm around his shoulders. “You’re getting a little personal.”

“Oops, sorry, Kara,” he apologized, looking abashed.

“It’s fine.” Kara waved him off. “We’ll talk a little later?”

“Sure.” He nodded.

“What are you planning on doing while we go through our lesson?” Cat asked, smoothing his hair down.

“I have a book.” Carter reached into his bag and pulled out a novel. “But I was mostly planning on watching. I’ll get in the water a little later.” He settled himself cross-legged in the sand beneath the canopy. “Don’t worry about me. I’m good.”

Kara clapped her hands together. “Okay, let’s get started then.” She bent her knees and jumped into the air.

Cat took a deep breath, mirroring Kara’s takeoff stance. “Here we go.” She pressed off from the ground, trying to recapture the feeling of possibility that she associated with flying. Shooting upwards, she matched Kara’s height easily. “That was much easier without worrying about hitting the ceiling.” She lowered her voice. “Sorry about earlier—he’s just excited.”

Kara shook her head. “I know. I’m just so used to keeping everything in. Old habits, you know?”

“I’m guilty of falling into bad patterns myself.” Cat smiled. “You don’t have to share any more than you want to. I’ll still be here.” They’d spoken of many things in their short time together—Kara adjusting to life with the Danvers, her experiences in college, entering the workforce—and Cat was content to let her open up about Krypton on her own time. It was the least she could do after trying to force the truth out of her earlier in the year.

Kara smiled. “Thanks, Cat.” She looked out toward the ocean. “You ready?”

“Do you feel like a quick lap up the coast and back?”

“After you,” Kara said, floating back to give her a clear view.

Cat willed herself forward and Kara fell into place on her right. Flying in the open air was thrilling; the wind whipped around her, filling her ears and ruffling her hair. The sun was warm enough to chase the chill away as she flew, and Cat couldn’t contain the laugh of joy that bubbled up inside her.

“You feel it, don’t you?” Kara said, floating effortlessly beside her. “The rush?”

“It’s incredible!”

“Now let’s see how fast you can go.” Without waiting for a response, Kara sped up, outpacing her easily.

“I don’t think I can go _that_ fast!”

“Just try!” Kara shouted over her shoulder.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Cat urged herself forward. She sped up but the gap between them was still increasing. “There has to be a way to go faster,” she muttered to herself.

Flying seemed to be independent of her telekinesis—could she use her powers to boost her speed? She closed her eyes, trying to focus on the feeling she used to move things. Her power firmly in hand, Cat propelled herself forward and the gap between them stopped increasing. She gave it another push and inch by inch she pulled ahead, not stopping until she was neck and neck with Supergirl.

They flew up the coast, only stopping when they reached the edge of the private beaches. Cat was glad that her neighbors hardly used their properties. Most of them were high-powered CEOs like herself who bought up the land when it was trendy for them to pretend like they took time off. She would have been the same, letting the beach house go unused, if it wasn’t for Carter.

“That was great, Cat!” Kara wrapped her in a mid-air hug.

“That felt wonderful! I don’t know how you can ever stand to be on the ground!”

Kara laughed. “It’s easy to keep my feet on the ground when that’s where the people I care about are at.”

Cat thought about Carter, so excited to see her in action. “Of course. Race you back?”

“3, 2, 1, GO!” Kara rushed the countdown, taking off immediately.

Cat raced after her, laughing. “Cheater!”

Kara was still impossibly faster than she was but by the time they were landing back on the beach, Cat felt much more confident in her abilities.

“Holy crap, mom! That was amazing!” Carter launched himself at her.

She hugged him tightly. “Thank you.”

“Can you take me up there? I want to fly!” He looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

Cat’s first instinct was ‘no’; as fun as flying had been, there was that deep-seated anxiety that came whenever Carter wanted to try something remotely dangerous. Then there was the fact that she was still getting the hang of her powers and wasn’t confident that she could keep him safe if something went wrong.  “I don’t know…”

Kara stepped forward. “I could take him, if you want.” She shrugged. “He’d be safe with me.”

“Please, mom? This way we can all go up together!”

Cat thought about Carter feeling the way she’d felt soaring over the coast. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Here, Carter.” Kara stepped toward him. “Stand on my feet.” He scrambled forward, stepping lightly on top of her boots. “Don’t worry about hurting me. You can hold on as tight as you need to,” Kara said, anchoring him with an arm around his waist. “Girl of steel, remember?”

He nodded. “Up, up, and away!”

Laughing, all three of them took to the skies.

* * *

Kara stuffed the last of her ham sandwich into her mouth, washing it down with some lemonade. “Oh Rao, that was good.” She leaned back in her chair, ready to switch focus, when she realized that Carter was staring at her, wide-eyed. “What?”

“You ate four sandwiches!”

“Using my powers makes me hungry.”

“Is that why I ate a whole one of these?” Cat asked, looking at her own empty plate.

Carter nodded solemnly. “Makes sense. Powers must need the extra calories.”

Kara laughed. “Yes, well, now that we’re all refueled, I have another idea to test your flight skills. Do you think you’re ready?”

Cat smirked. “Did you forget who you were talking to?”

There was that Cat Grant confidence Kara loved so much. “Okay, for this exercise, I want you to stay airborne and move the rocks over there.” She jerked her head toward the large boulders they’d used for practicing Cat’s other powers.

“Is that all?” Cat stood, making her way out from under the shade.

Kara rolled her eyes. “That’s not the exercise. I want them set up as obstacles so that we can practice maneuvering in tight corners.”

“Okay, here goes.” Cat waved Carter back. “Stand back, sweetheart.”

While Cat arranged the do-it-yourself obstacle course, Kara took a moment to admire how much control she had gleaned over her powers in such a short time. Not that she was surprised—Cat had set out to master her powers with the same determination that raised her empire. Now, she was able to effortlessly lift and arrange rocks that weighed nearly a hundred pounds, until they were settled in the sand at alternating lengths.

“There.” Cat propped her hands on her hips. “How’s that?”

“Very cool.” Carter gave her a thumbs up.

“Okay,” Kara said, wandering over. “So now I want you to weave in and out, making a sharp turn at the last rock before doing the same thing on the way back. Do you want me to show you first?”

“Have a little bit of faith, Kara. I can handle a couple of obstacles.”

She held her hands up in surrender. “Okay, whenever you’re ready, then.”

Cat took a running start, taking off with ease. Kara watched as she adjusted her trajectory and cleared the first turn. Carter whooped beside her.

It happened on the third turn. Cat tried to clear it too quickly, and she smashed into the side of the rock.

“That looked like it hurt.” Kara floated over to where she had fallen, lying facedown in the sand.

Carter winced. “You okay, mom?”

Cat sat up, wiping sand from her face. “That wasn’t ideal. Help me up?”

“You know, a cape might help,” Kara suggested, taking her hand.

Cat scoffed, now upright and brushing sand off of her clothes. “I refuse to ever be caught wearing a cape.” Kara looked pointedly to her own cape and Cat rolled her eyes. “Not that you don't pull it off magnificently, of course.”

“I'm gonna let that go since you're the one who can't make a turn.” Kara chuckled. “Let's go again.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Cat replied sardonically.

Kara smirked, moving to sit back with Carter while Cat prepared herself.

She ran the exercise again and again, working to make the turns without crashing. Kara ended up having a go herself, even taking Carter along once. He eventually got bored with their training and grabbed his boogie board for some entertainment.

Later, when the sun had set and Carter had gone up to the house to shower, Kara approached Cat as she was gathering their things. “You know, Carter got me thinking…I, uh, have never told you my real name.”

“Kara, I told you…” Cat kept packing, not meeting her eyes. She grabbed a dirty towel and began to fold it. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

“I know,” Kara said, reaching out and stilling Cat’s hands. “But I want to.” Cat met her eyes, waiting, and Kara took a deep breath. “My name is Kara Zor-El.”

Cat was quiet for a moment. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kara Zor-El,” she said with a wink. Kara closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of hearing Cat say her full name. Her eyes snapped back open when she felt Cat press a soft kiss to her lips. “You know, this is the nicest date I’ve ever been on.”

“Date?” Kara repeated.

“Do you disagree?” Cat asked, returning to packing.

“No.” She shrugged. “I just thought you would have wanted to go out—do something good.”

Cat made a noise of disbelief. “You taught me how to fly and you gave my son a memory he’ll never forget. I’d say today more than qualifies.”

“I thought today was wonderful, too.”

“Now come on.” Cat jerked her head toward the house. “Carter is going to be done soon and he’ll wonder what’s taking so long.”

Kara sighed, glancing out at the waning light. “Actually, it’s getting late, I should probably let you two have some time.”

“You don’t have to. It’s probably the last weekend we’ll get good weather. We were planning on staying here until tomorrow afternoon. You could stay the night.”

“You want me to stay? Here? With you?” Kara knew what a huge thing it was for Cat to offer; she always made a point to keep her suitors clear of her son.

“With me…or in the guest room. Whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

“I'd like that.” Kara took Cat’s hand as they headed back to the house.

* * *

Cat tapped the end of her pencil against her bottom lip, tilting her head to examine the page she'd spent all morning working on. The design was rough—it had been a long time since she'd doodled anything more than a heart on the corner of Carter's birthday cards—but the picture was clear and she was confident that her stylist would be able to translate it into something functional. Finally satisfied, she turned her attention to the woman who was currently asleep beside her.

Kara was lying on her stomach with her arms wrapped around her pillow, her breathing low and rhythmic. Nothing had happened during the night except for some light kissing—they’d stayed up late talking. Or rather, Kara talked and Cat listened as she shared stories about her time before Earth.

Kara was animated as she described the dozen or so planets she’d visited and promised to let Cat peruse her paintings of those memories when they returned back to the city. She spoke of her parents, smiling despite the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Cat had held her hand, gently wiping away the moisture on her face.

When they were finally tired enough to go to sleep, she invited Kara to stay with her, knowing that she wouldn’t want to be alone if she had been the one to relive such painful memories. Cat had held her in the dark until they’d both drifted off.

Kara stirred beside her. “Morning,” she mumbled, nuzzling her face into the pillow.

“Good morning,” Cat said, moving Kara’s hair out of her face. “Did you sleep alright?”

Kara nodded. “Did you?”

Cat hummed her assent, her hands reaching for the sketchpad. “Can I show you something?”

“Of course.” Kara shifted, making the bed bounce as she sat up.

Cat placed the pad in Kara’s hands as soon as she was situated. “There’s a stylist who I trust. She’s an extremely talented woman and she’s dressed everyone from Mr. and Mrs. Cronkite, to the Gilmores, to Michelle Obama. I think she can turn this idea into something suitable.”

She watched as recognition flashed in Kara’s eyes, a slow smile spreading across her face. “It’s perfect, Cat.”

“I’ll fax it over today.” She took the sketch from her gently. “I’d like to start joining Supergirl for patrols sometime soon.”

“But breakfast first?” Kara grinned up at her.

Cat laughed, tossing the sketchpad down on the bed. “Alright, breakfast first. Let’s go, Supergirl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for reading. I can't wait to see what Charlie will do with the reveal!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by captain-jaybird

“Are you sure about this?”

“Do I ever do things I’m not sure about?” Cat replied, smirking and rising slowly into the air.

Kara  stifled a gasp. Cat looked  _ amazing _ . She had on a form-fitting bodysuit with a sky blue top and white pants with black boots and gloves, but it was the coat over the rest of the costume that really made the look. Royal blue with gold trim, it was closed to the waist but then opened up at the hips to flutter softly in the breeze. Visually and aerodynamically it mimicked a cape, but it was all Cat Grant style and class. 

“You look...wow. Just wow.” Kara could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks. “So, um, do you, do you want to go on patrol?”

Cat sighed. “Not quite a grand unveiling, but it’ll do.” Smile returning, she quipped, “Let’s go, Supergirl.”

Kara joined her in the air, trying to tune in with her superhearing and not be distracted by the woman flying beside her. She never thought she’d get to share  _ this _ with Cat.

Distant screams for help rang in her ears. 

“A fire! Quick, follow me!”

Going fast, but not too fast for Cat to keep up, Kara led them to Midtown in under 30 seconds. A huge fire was blazing in an apartment building, the firefighters struggling to hold it back. Using her X-ray vision, Kara could see people trapped on the upper floors, and the building was quickly becoming unstable.

“It’s too dangerous for you to go in there, you’re not invulnerable,” she told Cat. “The building is starting to fall down. Can you use your powers to try to support it?”

Cat nodded, and Kara raced inside. Moving at blinding speed, but careful to be slow enough not to injure human passengers, Kara rescued three families—four—five. It was difficult to hear over the crackling and popping of the fire and rumbling of the collapsing building, and her X-ray vision was of limited use against the smoke. Still, Kara thought she’d gotten everyone out. She joined Cat in the air, where the other woman was visibly struggling, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

“I think that’s everyone,” Kara rasped, and Cat nodded, letting go. Suddenly, Cat’s face morphed into horror. 

“I can hear someone’s thoughts in there! A child!”

Before Kara could even react, Cat shot into the building.

“Cat, no!”

Kara never even got the chance to race in after her, as the building collapsed almost immediately. She could swear she felt her heart stop, and she raced to the wreckage at the bottom.

What she saw astonished her. Cat was crouched by a little girl, arms extended, concentration written all over her straining facial features. Around them, rubble and flames were kept out by an invisible protective bubble. Faster than the eye could see, Kara put out the flames and moved all the falling debris. Cat put down her arms, gasping.

“Took you long enough,” she said, once she could speak.

Before Kara could reply, a woman ran forward.

“Cindy! My baby, oh my baby!” She embraced the child. “Thank you, thank you—” she looked up, “Cat Grant?!”

Kara winced. She and Cat had discussed this at length. Cat had argued trying to hide her identity was useless; she was too famous. Kara had said going public was too dangerous. In the end, Cat had won. No mask, no superhero name. She was Cat Grant, and her superheroing was an extension of her brand.

“You’re welcome,” Cat said gently. “I’m glad I could help.” She turned to the reporters, raising her voice, and Kara recognized the mask of Cat Grant, media mogul slipping on. “I hadn’t gone public yet, but I was involved in an accident that gave me some extraordinary abilities. I’ve decided to use these abilities to help the citizens of National City, following the example Supergirl has set for us all. You can read all about it in tomorrow morning’s edition of the  _ Tribune _ .”

Kara smiled. Cat had insisted on writing her own story for publication after she made her debut. She wasn’t going to get scooped by any other news outlet (and  _ especially _ not by Lois Lane). She’d given J’onn and Lucy headaches over her various drafts, as they patiently and then not-so-patiently explained what she could and could not print.

Cat flew back over to her, clearly done with her media soundbite. Kara was sure she’d be trending on Twitter within minutes.

As soon as she was sure she was out of earshot of the reporters, Cat said quietly, “I would have liked to patrol longer, but that trick with the falling building really wore me out. Fly home with me?”

Kara nodded, hands itching to check Cat out, make sure she was okay. They couldn’t let reporters know that Cat and Supergirl were involved, not without endangering Kara’s identity. Kara knew this, but she still ached with the need to kiss Cat, to feel her in her arms.

It didn’t take long to get to Cat’s penthouse. Reporters were swarming the entrance at street level. 

“Glad I can use the balcony entrance,” Cat said dryly as she landed. “I used to hate having to make my way through the crowd of paparazzi.”

“I’ll bet.” Kara touched down, following Cat into her bedroom. “Cat…”

“What?” Cat asked, turning around, expression softening the blunt question.

“I was, I was just so scared, when that building collapsed on top of you. Can I…?”

Cat seemed to know what she needed, stepping closer. “It’s okay, Kara. I’m here and in one piece.”

Kara ran her hands up and down Cat’s slender frame, feeling her warm and solid beneath her touch. Finally, she cupped Cat’s face, kissing her gently.

“I’m proud of you. It’s just hard to watch you throwing yourself into danger like that.”

“Now you know how I feel. It’s hard, lo--caring about a superhero. Putting on a cape has its risks, physical and mental. But so does being on the other side. Your heart is in danger.”

Cat looked away. Kara gathered her in her arms, not yet able to speak.

“I didn’t realize how hard it would be,” she said when she’d recovered her voice. “But it’s worth it. You’re worth it.”

Cat’s grip on her tightened. “So are you.”

They stayed like that for a time, but eventually Kara’s stomach rumbled. Cat laughed.

“Come on, let’s get out of these suits. I’ll make you lunch.”

“Out, out of the c-costumes?” Kara blushed. “I, I, um.”

She’d never seen Cat strip, and wasn’t sure she was ready. They’d only been dating a couple weeks. If she saw Cat in a state of undress, could she hold herself back? She didn’t want to take things too fast; Cat was more important than that.

Cat huffed a laugh through her nose. “You can take a pair of my sweatpants and one of my larger shirts and change in the guest bedroom, Supergirl. No need for any...impropriety. Wait for me in the kitchen.”

“Right. Right! Yes. I’ll do that. Right now. I’m, um, leaving. But I mean I’ll be back. In the kitchen that is. I’ll be back in the kitchen.”

Cat’s amused laugh followed Kara down the hall, and Kara smiled. She got the sense that Cat liked making her flustered.

Once she’d changed, she waited in the kitchen, like she’d said (clumsily and repeatedly). She tugged self-consciously at her shirt. It was short and tight on her, and the sweatpants rode low on her hips.

When Cat came out, Kara sucked in a breath. She’d never seen her look so relaxed. It was utterly beautiful. Donned in pajama pants and an oversized, comfortable sweater, her face was scrubbed clean of soot and makeup. She walked over and gave Kara a kiss on the cheek.

“You look good in my clothes.” Cat winked.

Kara laughed and nearly tripped over her tongue trying to respond. “I’m, I’m glad.”

“Mmm. I’m sure this won’t be the last time.”

Kara grinned, flushing. The future seemed very, very bright.

——————--

Cat didn’t think she’d  _ ever _ seen CatCo so busy. Her superhero debut had been like a bomb going off in the media. Every news outlet was clamoring for new details, chasing the biggest story of the year. When you combined international businesswoman and celebrity Cat Grant with superheroics, you got a media storm of epic proportions.

Eve, Cat’s new assistant, came running up, eyes wide.  _ Please let her not fire me for interrupting, _ she thought. Cat almost laughed. Eve hadn’t quite figured out yet that sometimes Cat’s bark could be worse than her bite. The woman had been a competent assistant, though not as good as Kara, and Cat wasn’t  _ quite _ so mercurial.

“Ms.Grant, Rachel Maddow is on the line for you. She wants to schedule a primetime interview on MSNBC.”

Cat considered for a moment. In general, she had a high opinion of Rachel. She was a good reporter, and Cat admired the way she had managed to claw her way to the top, despite being a woman and gay.

“When?” she asked sharply, going over her schedule mentally.

“Tonight. She wants to cover it as the story’s breaking.”

Cat thought for a moment. In light of the importance of the story, the editorial meeting could certainly be pushed back to tomorrow.

“Put me through. But make it clear CatCo will need to benefit from this arrangement as well.” Privately, Cat felt Maddow owing her a favor could prove beneficial in the future.

“Right away, Ms.Grant.” Eve scurried off, and Cat picked up the phone.

“I have five minutes,” she barked out, and negotiations began.

———————

She returned home from the televised interview at eight, glad it was before Carter’s bedtime.

“Sweetheart, I’m home!”

Carter came running in and hugged her, but Cat noticed a stiffness to his shoulders as he stepped away, and though she was trying to stay closed to his thoughts, his mind was radiating a sense of tension.

“Mom! I watched your interview.”

“What did you think?” Cat asked, heading to the couch. She sensed this might be a sit-down conversation.

“You being a hero is sooo cool.” Carter hesitated. “But...but they showed the video of your first rescue. The one where the building fell down on top of you.”

Cat’s heart sank. “Did that scare you?”

Carter looked away. “A little. For a second, I thought…”

Cat wanted to reach out to him, but sometimes when he was like this, talking about something difficult, he didn’t want to be touched, or to hold eye contact. Her son’s needs were more important than Cat’s personal comfort. 

“Carter, I won’t lie to you. Superheroing can be dangerous. But I promise you, I will  _ always  _ do everything I can to come back home to you.”

“But what if it’s not enough?” Carter’s voice trembled. “What if you get hurt?”

Cat stopped. She should have considered this more carefully.

“I can...I can leave the more dangerous things to Supergirl. She can handle the real heavy-hitters. And if you really want me to...I can stop. Hang up the cape, so to speak.”

Carter looked at her again. His eyes were watery but his jaw was clenched, resolved.

“No. I don’t want you to stop. I think you helping people is important, and I know it’s been hard for you to not be able to help right away when you were reporting. But just—just keep your promise about being careful and not fighting people that are too tough. Please.”

“I promise.” Cat shifted to face him more directly. “Do you want a hug?”

Carter thought a minute and nodded, curling into her side. Cat held him, treasuring the moment, knowing it wouldn’t be long until her boy was too big for this. When he fell asleep, Cat carried him to bed, glad her psychic powers were able to help lift him up enough that she could. She tucked him in and kissed his forehead.

After one last look at her son, she stepped out into the dining room, already calling Kara.

“Cat? I didn’t expect to hear from you tonight. Is something wrong?”

“Can you come over? I think we should talk.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Kara sounded suddenly panicked. “Did you decide dating me was a bad idea? Cat—”

“Kara, I’m sorry,” Cat cut her off. “That came out wrong. I just talked to Carter about being a superhero, and I think there’s some things we should discuss. I promise you, we’re okay.”

“Oh,” Kara sighed. “Oh, okay. I can be over in five minutes?”

“That works great. I’ll meet you on the balcony.”

It wasn’t long before Kara arrived, and Cat noticed she’d brought a change of clothes this time.

“You can put those on in my room, if you want,” Cat offered. “I’ll wait in the living room.”

Kara nodded, and it wasn’t long until they were both sitting on the couch, mirroring Cat and Carter earlier.

“Carter saw the footage of the building collapse,” Cat said, cutting straight to the point. “It scared him.”

“Oh, Cat, I’m sorry,” Kara said quietly. “I didn’t even think—”

“That’s not your responsibility. I’m his parent. But I promised him I would leave the more dangerous things to you.”

“Of course! I completely understand. But how do you feel about it?”

Cat felt her emotional walls rising, and with a deep breath lowered them. She didn’t want to do that, not with Kara.

“I feel disappointed in myself, for not thinking of this sooner. And it might be hard for me to sit back and do nothing when you’re in danger, but I have to prioritize my son. I can’t leave him. I won’t.”

“I’d never ask you to.” Kara reached out her hand to cover Cat’s. “I’d never even think to.”

“I know. That’s why I—that’s part of why we work. You accept that. You always have.”

Kara hummed in agreement, and a comfortable silence settled between them. Cat’s hand felt warm under Kara’s touch. “Were you doing anything else tonight?” Cat asked. “I may have interrupted, but I’m sure I could make it up to you.” She smiled wickedly.

Kara blushed, and Cat’s smirk widened.

“Um, well, I certainly wouldn’t argue with that. Not, um, not at all.”

Cat moved closer. “Well, in that case…” She closed the distance between them. Kara’s lips were soft, as usual. Cat didn’t know how someone so invulnerable, so invincible, could be so pliant beneath her lips, in her hands.

She deepened the kiss, and Kara whimpered. Heat flared in Cat’s stomach, and she maneuvered herself into Kara’s lap. She let her hands wander more than usual, slipping them under Kara’s shirt, pressing them into the small of her back.

“Cat!” Kara gasped, and Cat moved her mouth to the other woman’s neck, biting down just a little. “Oh, Cat!”

Cat noticed Kara’s hands clenching and unclenching by her sides.

“You don’t have to be afraid of hurting me. I trust you.”

“I don’t trust myself,” Kara admitted. “It’s never been like this before. I don’t know if I can stay in control.”

“I trust you,” Cat repeated, moving Kara’s hands to her hips. “And we can slow down, if you need.”

“N-no! I like this, it’s, it’s amazing. If I need to stop, I’ll...I’ll say Krypton. Then you’ll know.”

“A safeword.” Cat grinned, and Kara blushed. “The fact that you know that concept is...intriguing.”

Instead of answering, Kara, still red, leaned forward and kissed Cat again. Cat responded hungrily, running her hands up and down Kara’s toned back. It wasn’t long before they both were breathing heavily. Kara had tentatively moved her hands under Cat’s shirt, lightly gripping her hips. Cat’s skin burned where Kara touched her.

Cat kissed her passionately, moving restlessly on Kara’s lap. Kara herself kissed back with equal fervor, delicious tension between them building and building.

Suddenly Kara stopped, hand going to her pocket.

“My phone...it’s the special DEO emergency frequency. Only I can hear it.” She put her phone to her ear. “Hello?”

After a moment, her face paled. She turned to Cat.

“Livewire’s escaped. And the guard she knocked out said she was talking about you.”

\----------------

I also did an illustration for this chapter!

[](http://s1043.photobucket.com/user/captainjaybird/media/FullSizeRender_zpsdwxtxbfj.jpg.html)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long updates! I'm taking a full load of classes and working as a research assistant, I just have no time in my life anymore :(


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara hopes to get on top of the Livewire situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter by a_dot_burr_ell

“What do you mean there’s still no trace of her?” Kara stopped pacing to glare at J’onn.

“Just like it sounds, Supergirl.” He turned to where Alex was standing beside him. “What do we know so far?”

Alex hit a couple of buttons and brought up a grainy video feed of the metahuman-holding cells in the bowels of National City’s county jail. A guard patrolled up and down the hallway while various superpowered criminals slept on cots in each cell. Suddenly, the video cut out.

“Livewire utilized a power surge in the NCPD’s metahuman containment unit to break out.” Alex pulled up a second video which showed the aftermath of the previous scene. Lights flickered and guards were lying still on the floor. “Armed guards tried to subdue her but she was so juiced up from the surge that she beat them easily. Two of them are still in the hospital.”

“Well, she has to recharge, right? When she plugs into a source of electricity—”

Alex cut Kara off. “That’s a big ‘if’. From the readings we got, she may not need to recharge for days.”

“We can’t just sit around and wait that long. Cat is in danger now!” Kara pounded her fist down a little harder than intended, denting the table.

“Kara,” Alex said, pulling her to the side. “Look, I know you’re worried but we’ll stay on this. As soon as we have news, we’ll call you.”

Kara knew her sister was right; she couldn't just sit here glaring at the people who were just doing their jobs. “Fine, then I’ll patrol and see if I can find her first.” She made for the exit.

“That's not what I meant!” Alex called after her. “Kara!”

“Just keep looking!” Kara said over her shoulder, taking flight.

She rose above the city as quickly as she could, closing her eyes to focus on the onslaught of noise that reached her ears. There were barking dogs, crying babies, and an argument going down between a restaurant manager and his bread supplier. Car horns blared and water ran through the sewer system beneath the city, but Kara still couldn’t pinpoint anything that would lead her to Leslie.

She circled the city, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any source of trouble, but after three hours with nothing more than a fender bender on the freeway, Kara had to admit that manual searching was getting her nowhere. Fighting back the anxiety in her gut, she took off towards Cat’s building.

Just as she arrived, her boot buzzed, and she reached down and pulled out her phone. When she saw it was Cat, images of kidnapping flashed through her mind, and she nearly dropped the phone. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“No, everything’s fine. Why, are you worried?”

Kara scoffed. “No.” It sounded unconvincing even to her.

Cat chuckled. “Well, I was just calling to tell you that if you’re planning on standing—or flying  
—guard all night, you may as well conduct your vigil from inside.”

Kara’s brow furrowed. “How did you know I was out here?”

“I just know you.” Warmth washed over her at Cat’s statement. “Now, hurry up. I’m unlocking the balcony door.”

Several feet below her, Kara heard the click of the lock releasing and the door sliding open. She floated down until she touched down on the balcony.

Cat stood just inside the bedroom, her arms crossed against her silk nightie. “See, isn’t this better?”

“Well, I mean, yeah, but I was hoping not to bother you.”

Cat’s face softened. “Kara, you’re not a bother. You’re just trying to protect us.”

Kara tried to hide her smile. Hearing these kinds of things from Cat was still new and caught her off guard. “Okay, good. Then, I’ll just stay out here and—”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It will be far more comfortable inside. Now, come on.” Cat didn’t wait for her reply, stepping aside so Kara could pass.

Kara entered the apartment, gripping the edges of her cape. It was dark inside, the only light coming from the hall that led to Cat’s bedroom. “Carter?” she asked, keeping her voice down.

“Asleep,” Cat confirmed.

“I can stay out here, if you want to get some sleep,” Kara said, moving towards the couch.

Cat’s grin was wicked . “You could do that, or you could follow me to the bedroom.”

Kara gulped. “I-I—”

“Or there’s a perfectly comfy lounger in the corner of the room if that will make you more comfortable.”

“No, I just…” She didn't want Cat thinking she was rejecting her, but how was she supposed to admit she was afraid that taking too much would make Cat reconsider and call the whole thing off? “Of course, I’ll go with you.”

Cat turned and headed down the hall. Kara trailed behind her, closing the door behind them as they reached the bedroom.

“So,” Cat prompted, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Bed or lounger?”

The sight of Cat, legs crossed, hands splayed behind her, was too enticing. Kara just decided to enjoy what she had while it lasted. “Bed.”

Cat smirked, moving back until she was leaning against the headboard. “No boots on the bed, please. If you want more comfortable clothes, my casual wear is in the third drawer.”

“You know I can be across town to my apartment and back in three seconds flat.” Kara braced herself against the door, pulling her boots off before unclipping her cape and laying the fabric over the side of the lounger. She went to Cat’s chest of drawers and pulled out a t-shirt and pair of athletic shorts.

“But what if there’s an emergency in those three seconds?” Cat raised an eyebrow at her. “Maybe next time you should think ahead and bring a change of clothes.”

Kara crawled up the mattress, lying above the covers. “Of course, the next time your life is in danger, I will bring a change of clothes”

Cat grew quiet, turning her head instinctively to where her son was sleeping beyond her bedroom wall. “All things considered, I’ll sleep a whole lot better knowing you're here tonight.”

“If you’re really worried, I can have DEO agents dispatched to Carter’s school,” Kara suggested, resting her head on Cat’s hand.

“I’m going to take you up on that, actually. Better my son is backed up by government black ops than pull him out of school until this situation is under control.”

“I'll take care of it.” Kara made a mental note to call her sister once Cat was asleep. “I should probably stick close to you until we catch Livewire.”

“Well, we’ll both at CatCo tomorrow so—”

“I was actually thinking I should be a little closer than that.”

“Closer than within the same building?” Cat asked, one eyebrow rising in a perfect arch.

“Eve had mentioned wanting to take some time off. I can fill in as your assistant for a few days.”

“I can look after myself without you hovering behind me. Besides, you have a job to do.”

“I don't mean that you can't look after yourself.” The last thing she wanted was for Cat to think she didn’t believe in her. “I just won’t be able to stop myself from from worrying.”

Cat sighed, looking back at her. “What am I supposed to do? I can't just let word get out that I'm letting assistants take vacation time without any warning. My reputation has taken enough of a hit after I promoted my last one.”

Kara smiled. “Well, we can't have that. You can't even play it off for safety?”

“And putting you in supposed danger is more agreeable?” Cat quipped, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m bulletproof.”

“No one is supposed to know that.”

Kara flopped onto her back. “I guess not.”

“I suppose I can send Ms. Teschmacher away for a bit. I could pass it off as sending an assistant for a quality check of the hotels I usually frequent when I go out of town.”

Kara rolled back to face Cat. “Perfect! A nice trip disguised as work!”

“Oh, it will be work.” Cat got a mischievous glint in her eye. “I have a whole checklist prepared that I never had the reason to use. She'll have to fill out detailed descriptions of the building's safety compliance measures and services. It will be torture.”

Kara laughed despite herself. “That's so wrong.”

“You should just feel lucky I never sent you out on one of these; I actually needed you to work.” Cat reached forward and tucked a strand of hair behind Kara's ear.

“Well, then I'll cover for her until she returns. See, it's perfect.”

“Alright, we’ll do it your way.” Kara smirked. “...for now,” Cat added. “But we can't have you cover forever; you have your own career to worry about.”

“Deal,” Kara said, relieved.

“Great.” Cat pulled back the covers and slid beneath them. “Now, I’m going to sleep since I have travel arrangements to make tomorrow.”

“You know, I think my passwords are still active, I’m sure I can—”

“Goodnight, Kara,” Cat said, clicking off the light on the lamp beside her.

“Goodnight, Cat,” Kara replied, settling herself in for the night.

* * *

 

Kara stood beside Cat’s personal elevator, latte in hand. She could hear it as it came up the shaft, the company’s claim of silent mechanical workings no match for her alien hearing. The doors opened and Cat stepped out with her hand outstretched.

“Good morning, Ms. Grant,” Kara said, handing her the coffee and falling into step beside her. “Sleep well?”

“Exceedingly.”

It was the third day since Livewire’s escape, and every night Kara found herself in Cat’s bed. At first she had tried to stay awake all night, but after Cat woke up to find her reading in bed, she’d convinced Kara she could still sleep while protecting them. For the last three days, Kara had woken up wrapped in Cat’s arms, feeling more rested than she ever had on Earth.

“So, what do we have on the agenda for today?” Cat asked.

“A meeting with L-Corp at three, and there are several messages regarding last night’s rescue.”

Cat paused at her office door. “Ah, yes. The rescue I worked with Supergirl last night.”

Kara adjusted her glasses. “It was a doozy—bank robbery with hostages—the city is lucky you two were available.”

Cat had stayed mostly out of the line of fire, listening for the robbers’ thoughts, but she also had pinpointed the hostages’ location and led police to a back door while Kara kept the criminals occupied. It was because of her that everyone had gotten out without injury.

“It was, wasn't it?” Cat sat behind her desk and kicked off her heels. “I'll take my messages now.”

“Right away, Ms. Grant.” Kara returned to her own desk and began to work.

Several hours later, she’d made her way through all the work she had for Cat and was digging through a pile of research for Snapper. Her new boss hadn't taken kindly to Cat borrowing Kara while her assistant was out of town, but they were able to placate him with the promise that Kara would continue to work on editing her current article.

“Delivery for Ms. Grant?”

Kara raised her head to see a pimply delivery boy holding a bouquet of flowers. A quick scan with her X-ray vision cleared the delivery. “I can sign for that.”

The boy put the case down on her desk and pulled a digital pad from his messenger bag. “Sign here please.” He handed her a pen and the pad.

Kara signed her name and showed him out. On the way back, she grabbed the bouquet and took it to Cat’s office. “Delivery.”

Cat’s nose scrunched as she examined the flowers. It was well-known that Cat liked flowers, but few realized her tastes ran towards bouquets that held more meaning and elegance than the garish arrangement before her.

“Well,” Cat started, reaching forward and grabbing the card that was nestled between the stems. “We should see who this is from.” Her eyes narrowed as she read it, before she scoffed and handed the card to Kara. “Veronica Cale. I suppose I should send her a thank you note.”

“I'll have something drafted immediately. Anything else?”

“That will be all for now, Kara. Thank you.”

When Kara was back at her desk, she read the note on the back of the card.

_Saw the news last night. It's about time the city was protected by someone larger than life.  
—Veronica Cale_.

Kara pulled out a blank thank you note and picked up her pen. She'd written plenty of these on Cat’s behalf before, and it was familiar work. She was just putting the finishing touches on it when her phone rang. It was Alex.

“Hey, what's up?”

“It's Livewire. She's here.”

“Where? Alex! Is she on her way here?” Kara's eyes cut to where Cat was working.

“Not there. _Here_. Livewire is in the DEO. We need you, now!” There was a distinct scream on the other end of the line.

“Oh, oh!” Kara jumped up from her desk. “I'm on my way.” She ducked into Cat’s office. “Ms. Grant, I need to follow up on a lead. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

Cat’s head shot up from her computer. “Do you need any help?”

Kara shook her head. “No.”

“Please, be safe.” Cat said it as little more than a whisper, knowing she would hear.

Kara nodded before running to the stairwell. When she was sure she was alone, she changed into her suit and headed for the DEO.

The building was on lockdown, her usual entrance barred by a heavy metal gate that not even her x-ray vision could see through. Lead. Not for the first time, Kara cursed J’onn for his choices in building materials. She punched a dent into metal sheet, hitting it again and again until she broke through.

“Supergirl!” Agents swarmed around her.

“What's the situation?” she asked, scanning the room for her sister but coming up empty.

“Ma’am.” Vazquez appeared at her side. “There was an electrical surge about twenty minutes ago. We tried to reroute the excess power but it overloaded even us. Livewire appeared near the containment units, and Agent Danvers and the director followed in pursuit with a tactical unit. The building went into automatic lockdown after that.”

Kara ground her teeth. Of course her sister would go after the highly dangerous metahuman. At least J’onn was with her. “Okay, I’m heading after them. Evacuate all nonessential personnel.”

“Roger that.” Vazquez turned to the nearest agent and began issuing orders.

Kara made her way through the depths of the building. She finally reached the hall outside the containment units, sighing with relief when she saw Alex and her tactical team in one piece.

“Alex!” Kara ran towards them. Despite the slight perspiration that was gathering on her brow, Alex looked fine.

Alex waved her over. “Supergirl! Livewire is inside. We don’t have eyes on her, but J’onn phased through a moment ago to try and locate her. He hasn’t reported back. Can you bust us in?”

“Sure thing.” Kara turned her strength to the last door standing between her and Leslie. If they could capture her here, then the whole ordeal would be over and Cat would be safe.

“Okay, let’s go, go, go!” Alex ordered, waving her team inside. “Eyes open, everybody. Find J’onn.”

Agents with guns entered behind Kara, using the red lasers of their scopes to scan the area. Several pods lined the halls, their occupants glaring at them as they passed by. Kara was familiar with this part of the DEO—many of her victories ended in stuffing a hostile alien into one of these pods—but she’d never seen it looking so rough. The lighting overhead was nearly out, with the lights flickering and sparking dangerously. Kara turned the corner to another row of pods and gasped when she saw J’onn, prone on the ground.

“Alex, he’s down!” Kara yelled, rushing to his side as her sister muttered a curse. “No, no, no. J’onn, wake up!”

Alex checked him for signs of life, suddenly jerking her hand back. “Ow, he shocked me.”

“You okay?”

Alex nodded. “He seems to still be alive. We need to get him to medical, though.” She turned to her team. “You two, get him there.”

“On it!” The two agents lifted J’onn and quickly retreated.

“We must be close,” Alex said. “Let’s go before we lose her!” She raised her weapon and led them further into the prison.

They spotted Leslie at the end of the hall a moment later. Her back was towards them, her head bent low over a console.

“Kara,” Alex said, keeping her voice low. “She’s in front of the cell controls.”

“Leslie!” Kara called, her fists clenching at her sides. “This ends now! Step back and put your hands on your head.”

“How nice to see you again, you big Girl Scout. How’s Cat?”

“She’ll be safe once we get you into one of these cells.” Kara took a step forward. “Give it up. I know you must have used up all your energy by now. You haven’t been recharging.”

“Keeping tabs on me, are you? Well, I hate to break it to you, but things are a bit different from the last time.”

She spun to face them and Kara’s eyes widened. Heavy wiring snaked its way around Leslie’s middle, feeding into a metal chest piece that glowed red in the center. “What the—?” Kara muttered.

Leslie laughed. “What, don’t you like my new accessory? It packs a bit more punch than the energizer bunny ever could.”

“Kara, that thing must be feeding her powers,” Alex said.

“Where did you get that?” Kara asked, her mind reeling.

“A new friend,” Leslie answered, sneering. Kara clenched her jaw. Leslie by herself was a threat, but with some unknown entity backing her she was much more dangerous. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a deal to finish. Until next time, Supergirl.” Electricity sparked over Leslie’s hands as she plunged them into the control panel.

Kara shut her eyes as the console exploded, a flash of white light blinding everyone in the room. The next thing she knew, alarms were blaring and the agents beside her were shouting.

“The containment units!”

“The prisoners!”

The cells around them began to open as Leslie’s attack overrode the lockdown protocol. All at once, the aliens sprang from their cells, eager for their chance at freedom. The DEO agents closed ranks around Kara, leveling their weapons at the horde.

“Fire!” Alex ordered, pulling the trigger on her own gun.

The agents’ guns rang out, adding to the chaos surrounding them. Unfortunately, many of the aliens were strong enough to withstand the onslaught of bullets, and it did little more than enrage them. A backhand blow took down one agent, creating an opening.

“Supergirl, look out!” Alex shouted in between shooting targets, bobbing and weaving around the swinging of fists and tentacles.

Kara turned to see an alien lunging at her. She grabbed the charging humanoid—a fish looking guy with spines on his fins—and threw him against the wall, knocking him out.

Leslie cackled, enjoying the chaos she’d created. “Time to choose, Supergirl. Me or them!”

Kara was going to end this, now. A shot of heat vision to Leslie’s new gadget should break it without killing her. Kara just hoped Leslie wouldn't have enough energy to resist. Before she could let loose, another alien grabbed Kara by the cape and pulled her back.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kara spotted Leslie dragging Dr. Mortis from a cell. “Let’s go, old man. It’s my job to get you out of the building; after that you’re on your own.”

Mortis chuckled. “Then by all means, lead the way.” Leslie gripped him by the front of his shirt and dragged him along the outskirts of the room.

“No!” Kara punched her assailant with all her strength, hearing a satisfying crunch.

He retaliated by swiping at her middle with wicked looking claws. The slash ripped her suit but wasn't enough to break the skin. Kara redoubled her efforts until he slunk to the floor. She turned to go after Leslie.

“Supergirl, wait, we have to stop any more from getting past us.” Kara watched as Alex shot a creature with four arms in the chest and it went down immediately.

She looked back and growled in frustration when she realized that Leslie and Mortis had already fled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait. I am currently adjusting to some life news and I was blocked for quite a while. You should thank Charlie for yelling at me to get my butt in gear.


End file.
